We Need a War
by Kiwisilence
Summary: Tired of dealing with the Titans, Beast Boy begins secretly plotting to shatter his weak image and fight the Titans. Red-X/Beast Boy slash. Character deaths. Darker Beast Boy.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans and I am not recieving any profits...so there!

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><p>Chapter 1: Introduction<p>

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><p>The bedroom was chilled in frozen airs as he opened his eyes up that morning. The coldness of the room cooled his eyelids and gave him a moment of clarity. He did not feel warm and deluded by any heated emotions. The cold embraced him and nourished his perception. He had always liked the cold darkness of his room.<p>

Beast Boy was not a warm person.

He rose proudly from the trenches of his rigid bed to wake up and greet another day. He plastered another happy-go-lucky smile on his face that could have been pictured on any of the idiotic children's TV shows that Cyborg enforced upon the Titans' TV. Another cold day… he felt too detached from his fellow Titans to ever feel like they were his friends. They were beneath him mentally. They were taller than him, but their heights only served as an inverse relationship between their heights and their intelligence. Their false senses of superiority couldn't compare to him.

No, they were beneath the _real_ him: the cold and calculating him. Even Raven and her empath powers could not dissolve Beast Boy's cheery façade and reveal his inner self. Under his nauseatingly green flesh, he was even darker and more twisted than her. While Raven was one of those whiny, depressed mall Goth types who wrote poetry about feeling like a criminal and being in love with bad boys, Beast Boy actually went out and actually committed the acts. Who would ever suspect Beast Boy?

Raven's empath abilities sensed that he was constantly happy, but in truth, he was jovial about plotting against the Titans. He fantasized so many ways to defeat them: his only comfort while being bound in the Tower.

They thought he actually liked trite things like playing video games and devouring food. His false obsessions over such things should not have been believable. Every bad B-movie and science fiction plotline would have shown that the Titans that he was not to be trusted. He wasn't even a vegan; it had been a front to make them see him as weak and "kind towards the poor little animals."

Beast Boy wasn't kind, but cruel towards animals. The true animals, his fellow Titans, deserved punishment.

The Titans were not as unintelligent as he derided them: they were certainly smarter than the average teen, but did that really mean anything? Robin, despite his tactical and suspicious mind that could have been a problem to Beast Boy, valued and trusted his friends too much. His trust in his fellow Titans and support of them was zealous.

Exploiting Robin's trust was effortless. It helped that Robin had feelings for Beast Boy as more than a friend. Despite that Beast Boy felt his body to be obnoxious and almost comical in how underdeveloped and child-like it seemed (never mind its green color), Robin's feelings for Beast Boy couldn't be denied. Robin's affection for Beast Boy was certifiable proof of his mental unfitness. Their bodies barely qualified as teenagers in how monstrously thin they were.

Toying with Robin's emotions and arousing jealousy from Starfire were some of the rare times that Beast Boy felt as overjoyed as he pretended to be. No, he felt almost intoxicated by manipulating them. Lately, Raven had been giving him strange looks lately when he was around Robin. He must be more careful, but he didn't think that Raven would suspect anything.

In the beginning, Robin had done most of the early flirting and subtle hints at wanting more. All that Beast Boy had to do was act mechanically and pretend to be his usual self. Robin would "coincidentally" brush into him during sparring or touch his hands and shoulders while sitting with the rest of the Titans in the living room watching another brutal round of movies. Of course, Starfire noticed; she observed everything that happened with Robin on a level that rivaled the most dedicated of the Titan's stalkers.

A few nights ago, Beast Boy "randomly" asked Robin to stay beside him in his room while he was recovering from an injury during a mission. Robin didn't need to know that Beast By had purposely dislodged his leg, right? Robin had been close to kissing Beast Boy, but the fashionably challenged, primary color-monstrosity had refrained from taking that kiss. It was a first step anyway; more could happen later when Beast Boy wanted something. Thoughts of Starfire's reaction to Beast Boy finally succeeding in claiming Robin flashed though his mind.

Had Robin ever been interested in Starfire?

Probably not: even in the beginning of Starfire's "flirtation" with Robin, he had never responded to her advances. It's not like she wasn't pretty; Beast Boy could appreciate her beauty, but her overpowering naivety and Tameranean background made her unbearable. Some people were just so annoying that sane people such as himself shouldn't have to deal with those lesser beings.

Beast Boy had appreciated the criminals that the Titans fought more his fellow teammates. The villains might have been simple-minded, but at least they were attractive in a distinct way. The villains of Jump could have been described as the rejects from a model shoot that had been flooded in radioactive rivers of chemicals. Each villain was exotic, dark, and forboding in appearance. Always interesting no matter how grotesque and horrid they looked compared to regular people. Despite this, their brainless criminal ploys rivaled the Titan's stupidity and disheartened Beast Boy's interest in them.

The Criminals of Jump were all the same: cast from the same paltry background and always lusting for more money and nothing else. Money, money, money. Not one of the Titan's enemies craved true, undiluted power and dominance. Slade did, but the Titans hadn't dealt with him in almost a year. Beast Boy had hoped that Slade would have returned by now, but he dashed those hopes and decided to be more realistic. Beast Boy could be the villain or trick lackeys into cleverly calculated plans to fight the Titans and make missions more interesting. Money was always involved with pettier criminals. Money was the stich that bound those villains together and drove them; they were too primitive to have complex reasons for their crimes.

So why? Why was he still one of the Titans when he could have easily defected and defeated them?

Public image. Even Beast Boy understood the benefits of swaying public support. While his fellow Titans had distanced themselves from the media and their fans, Beast Boy had embraced his sheep. He was now the most popular of the Titans not just among Jump, but wherever the Titans broke headlines. Raven was a loner, so despite being his biggest threat other than Robin, she would never to able to rile the masses against Beast Boy. The Titans' fans supported him and would commit to whatever cause Beast Boy wanted them to support. The public could be easily manipulated into hating Raven, for which, Beast Boy could have a reason to put her down. Robin and Cyborg rivaled Raven in their isolation from the public. Starfire could have been a threat, but her inability to understand human culture and language prevented that from ever happening.

He didn't want to fight Raven though; he liked her despite her obliviousness to his plotting. Her pessimism was refreshing amongst the Titans.

His celebrity kept growing, but his criminal life was no longer just a fledgling interest. The Titans seized a lot of evidence, weapons and other technology from the criminals, which could easily be stolen from the Tower and right back to the criminals. Never mind that those criminals didn't know who was selling them back their belongings; they weren't cunning enough to try and find out who he was. They paid quite handsomely because they felt like they were the ones who had tricked the Titans.

He hadn't been involved in any bank robberies or other petty thefts that the Jump criminals tried repeatedly like animals but to no avail. No, he had just looked the other way and accepted the bribes of certain criminals. He wasn't as money driven as they were, but Beast Boy could appreciate the value of cold-hard-cash money and criminal connections if he would ever finally defect from the Titans. His criminal network was growing.

Beast Boy had gathered information, technology, and every password and file related to the Titans and planned to give it to ones he deemed worthy, but so far he had only helped Red-X. It's not like any of them would ever win in the end even if every criminal fully knew the Titan's tactics and technology. Beast Boy always restrained himself from ever showing his full potential anyway and purposely flubbed his attacks. Pretending to be pathetic at combat was another rare thing that made him smile and not that cheerful toothy grin he showed to the Titans. Despite this, all of the Titan's fights had been easy and would still be easy even when Beast Boy would be frail and close to death. Robin still somehow believed that their fights with villains weren't predictable.

He wondered what would happen if he would fight to his full ability, perhaps during a practice session with the Titans. He could easily take on his other four teammates, but how would they react? Supportive? Jealous? Or would their view of him finally be shattered? They somehow still believed that their green transformer was weak. Cyborg had originally befriended because he believed Beast Boy needed to be protected. What would Cyborg do if Beast Boy knocked him out unconscious?

In a worst case scenario, they would be suspicious, but they would probably try to overanalyze the situation and deride Beast Boy as depressed and violent. They would never went to believe that meek little Beast Boy could ever deceive them. In all probability, they were more likely to be supportive. Robin and his heroic ego would believe that his tutelage had finally changed Beast Boy. Even if Beast Boy stopped hiding his strength, he would never reveal his criminal activities until he was engaged in an open war with them. Secrecy was what he traveled and reveled in.

Beast Boy gathered the stolen pouch of Robin's weaponry and video archives of his battles. They could easily be studied to defeat Robin. The pouch also included the data needed to hack into the Tower's defenses. Beast Boy didn't even need to study Robin or the others to be able to defeat them in combat, but he must continue to cloak his strength for now.

He had chosen to help Red-X for simple reasons really. Red-X was the antithesis to Robin: a villain born from Robin's own past. Red-X was the perfect rival. As a villain, Beast Boy knew that Red-X wasn't as money-crazed as his thieving led his fellow Titans to believe. Red-X loved the sport of fighting the Titans and understood the absurdity of their crime fighting. Beast Boy dreamt about joining Red-X and fighting his teammates, but that could not happen soon.

Red-X had agreed to meet Beast Boy in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town. Jump was never as prosperous as the people believed. Its poverty and degradation was well hidden. Many abandoned and dilapidated structures still existed on the city's outskirts, becoming nests of activity for villains. It wasn't the villains who truly harmed the economy of Jump; the people's own ineptitude and ignorance that was only further nourished by their belief in their Titan saviors detracted from the social issues of the city. With the Titans removed and exiled, Beast Boy could easily stage a coup within the criminal ranks and take control of the city's people and resources. He could do it all without any of them ever knowing that he was in control; it would be as though nothing had changed while the people were being secretly controlled and sapped into submission. Money was only a means to Beast Boy; power over the people and the destruction of his supposed friends were his ultimate goals. He might keep them the Titans around; he needed a challenge and people to toy with. The populace would never hope to challenge him; the Titans in all their splendid glory offered entertainment. He had waited this long to do anything so that he could build up his public image and wealth, but he could not wait any longer. Jump would soon be his to command.

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><p>AN: I was thinking about making this a slash pairing between Red-XBeast Boy or Slade/Beast Boy. Any suggestions?


	2. New Trophy

Disclaimer: Still do not own.

Warnings: Character death! and something far worse - kissing!

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><p>Chapter 2: New Trophy<p>

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><p>Beast Boy patrolled Jump by himself that night. There hadn't been that much activity lately other than several "mysterious" burglaries.<p>

He needed to recruit members for a team to counter the Titans. Not only would its members serve him through their talents and connections, but the idea of an "Anti-Titans" team appealed to him. All that Beast Boy needed was a serious threat that he could hold over the new members so that they would look past his dubious Titan status.

Beats Boy could use other methods of persuasion, but the bloodlust of killing was too fun to pass up. It was in his nature to hunt and kill - his animal forms lusted for blood.

Scanning from his perch on the rooftop across from the apartment complex, Beast Boy prepared himself to transform and fly into the slightly opened window. Mammoth had not been hard to find. He was a minor villain – too lowly for the Titans consider a threat, but easily traceable. Mammoth was the type of villain that the police could have captured and should have done so, but like any other criminal in the city, the people expected the Titans to take care of the criminals.

Beats Boy studied Mammoth watching TV. None of the windows in the former H.I.V.E. member's apartment were curtained, like Mammoth was inviting Beast Boy in for the kill.

Mammoth might have been a lowly villain, but his friendships to Gizmo and Jinx remained his only redeeming qualities. Too bad Beast Boy didn't need Mammoth alive to recruit the two.

Beast Boy paused and caught his breath. In. Out. He wasn't afraid of murder, he was nervous of performing a silent kill.

With one finally glance towards the open window, Beast Boy shifted into a raven and flew inside Mammoth's living room.

Sitting on the sole faded green couch in the apartment, Mammoth had been facing away from the window and did not see Beast Boy swoop in.

Nor did he hear Beast Boy change into a cat and sneak up onto the couch, perched right behind the former H.I.V.E. member's head.

Finally, Beast Boy morphed into a python and quickly jetted onto Mammoth's neck and locked him in a strangling hold. Mammoth flailed his arms and tried wresting Beast Boy away, but Beast Boy only curled tighter.

Beast Boy needed Mammoth to die – he was long past having any regrets for murder. He hissed contently in his form as Mammoth's body stopped fighting and succumbed to death.

In death, Mammoth would finally be useful.

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><p>Beast Boy strolled cat-like into the abandoned building the next day, becoming embraced by the darkness within. Every shadow he passed by looked like it concealed Red-X. Beast Boy could not handle a betrayal now, but his paranoia didn't seem to stem from the possibility of Red-X ruining his plans. Beast Boy found the thief...entertaining? He focused on calming down, forcing himself to relax. Why was he this edgy?<p>

The interior was devoid of light; it was as cliché as any horror film. Beast Boy half-expected some monster or fifth-rate villain to pop up from the shadows and mal him as his fears of Red-X calmed down. He didn't sense any movement, not even the patter of the weather nor scurrying rats echoed throughout the halls as he searched his theif.

There – an almost undetectable breathing could be from a nearby room, but like the rest of the building, the room was pitch-black. Beast Boy pondered if he should make some cheesy and embarrassingly heroic declaration, but instead, he casually threw the pack of Robin's weapons and technology at his target. Red-X probably already had access to Robin's tech, but the tower's security codes and data files made this meeting worth the risk for Red-X.

"Clever," Red-X whispered in a breathy drawl, before gaining confidence and speaking louder, "So why would you help a common thief like me?"

Beats Boy remained silent, waiting for Red-X to continue and at least hypothesize for himself on what Beast Boy's intentions were. Red-X never failed to be entertaining.

"Is this a set up? No, it would have been more obvious and would not have involved you. Perhaps Robin? Where is the Boy Wonder in all of this? Hello? Robin - are you there?" Red-X cackled after mentioning the boy wonder's name.

"If this had been a set up, I could easily have had you arrested yesterday. Also, I would not have been so stupid as to have given you anything of Robin's that could help criminals and all that heroic jazz. Whatever..."

Beast Boy paused, before continuing. He was thankful Red-X couldn't make out Beast Boy's nervous twitching in the dark.

"...Anyway, we need an apartment or someplace to meet that isn't as dingy and suspicious as an abandoned building. Also, I need you to contact Jinx and Gizmo to meet with us in two day's time. You already trade tech with Gizmo, and he can be easily be paid or threatened into telling you how to contact Jinx."

The Beast Boy that the Titans knew would have yelled dramatically crossed his arms, and chanted a mantra about "kicking butt." Beast Boy felt too tired to wear that mask for the thief.

"Will do, BB...So, why help me? I am...but a petty thief. A more obvious choice of whom to help would have been Slade. Or the Brain?"

"Maybe so, but it would not have been as interesting."

"Am I, a humble thief, interesting to you?"

Red-X inched closer towards Beast Boy and began to breathe down his neck. He was close, but not touching. Normal people and certainly the other Titans might not have noticed the thief's close proximity. Beast Boy's animal senses aided him also in his human form, which most of Jump's villains seemed ignorant of. Oh well - he was always thought of as the weakest Titan.

Beast Boy spun around, too quickly for Red-X to react. He gently launched his right hand to grasp Red-X's mask while his left held onto Red-X's right arm. Beast Boy could hear the increased heart beats pumping in Red-X; he could easily snap Red's right arm off or at a bare minimum, dislocate it and weaken the chances of the thief trying to defeat him.

There was no mask as he reached for it. His hand was greeted by the not quite smooth yet slightly hairy face of the thief. Instead of threatening Red-X or even mock-fighting him, Beast Boy's grip of the thief's right arm loosened as Beast Boy continued to glide his fingers against Red-X's skin.

Red-X leaned closer; his mouth almost touching Beast Boy's ear.

"Charming," Red-X's voice drawled again. The thief was too naturally flirtatious and it unnerved Beast Boy.

The thief had never done anything like this with Starfire.

Nor had he done anything like this with his obsession with Robin.

Before Beast Boy could retort, Red-X realigned his face to Beast Boy's and smashed their mouths together. It was violent, heated, and downright abusive, but seeing the advantage, Beast Boy loosened into the kiss and began massaging Red-X's lips with his tongue. Red-X's loyalty could be earned way to easily for Beast Boy.

Their tongues met in the sloppy wet collision of their mouths, but the kiss eventually eased out and fell into a playful rhythm. Apparently Red-X enjoyed the kiss, for Beast Boy could hear the faintest moan escape Red-X despite the thief's want to not express real emotions.

The thief was not as truly calm collected as he pretended to be. His tongue was too wild to ever be considered calm and reserved. It wasn't even playful like his usual demeanor; his kisses were aggressive, but died down after a while...or so Beast Boy hoped.

Once again, Red-X's teeth mashed up against Beast Boy's upper lip and ripped open small cut. As Beast Boy's salty blood began to flavor their kisses, Red-X latched his hands onto Beast Boy's neck. Before Beast Boy could set himself free, Red-X quickly let go and vanished from the building.

Beast Boy stood confused, before sharply turning and exciting the building. He had a trophy to prepare for display to his two new recruits.

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><p>AN: Sorry for killing off Mammoth. Not really. Mourn his loss! And review.<p> 


	3. Death Became Them

Chapter 3: Death Became Them

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><p>Beast Boy arrived at the apartment Red-X had arranged.<p>

There was no way the thief had paid for it, it was too lived in. Photos of a family and their children adorned the place. It was cheery to the point of being taunting. Beast Boy almost felt nauseous as he opened the unlocked door and strolled into the place.

The family was upper to middle class. Red-X must have studied their habits of leaving and entering the house before stealing the key. It was a ridiculous thing to do; Beast Boy could have handled a seedy hotel. Red-X must have just jumped at the thrill of stalking and burglarizing this place. The green-skinned hero suspected that the thief would rob this family blind after they left.

A nice parting gift to a good, happy family. It almost redeemed them.

Beast Boy made his way to the living room. Red-X was standing with one foot against the wall, but Jinx and Gizmo rose as they saw him appear.

He didn't even need to bring Mammoth with and...reintroduce the friends. Based on Jinx and Gizmo's obvious tremors before him, they fully knew who had ended their friends lives.

Going by the lack of headlines over Mammoth's death, either the H.I.V.E. or his friends had dealt with the body. Beast Boy almost snickered at the thought of tiny Gizmo dragging Mammoth and burying him.

"The party can now start," Red-X paced forward towards Beast Boy.

"Yes. Jinx and Gizmo, enjoy whatever this place has to eat now. Before Red decides to steal everything here."

"I wouldn't steal everything..."

"Well obviously not the nasty green couches in this living room...I thought you would have had better taste."

"I happen to have an excellent taste in green things..." Red-X was acting too over-the-top, but Beast Boy couldn't find himself to care. An aggressively flirtatious thief somehow felt normal given the past week.

Neither Jinx or Gizmo seemed eased by their conversation. They eyed Beast Boy fearfully, as if an unsaid threat hung to the air. They were choking on that fear, barely able to speak.

It was Jinx, the leader of her former trio, that mustered the strength to address Beast Boy. "B...Beast Boy."

"Finally, you have the courage to speak. I called you here for a reason."

"Why? Why us?" Jinx's voice broke out in a whisper.

"It's not really your powers. I just liked what you symbolized...sit down."

Unsurprisingly, Red-X sat on the same couch with Beast Boy. "I choose you because you're similar to the Titans. Red is our Robin."

Red-X relaxed further into the couch, putting his arm behind Beast Boy. Seeing the thief seemed to slightly put the other two at ease.

Beast Boy continued, trying his best to fake kindness. This was his face for dealing with the public. He would use it for the time being if it would ease them. "Jinx is our Raven and Gizmo is our..."

"Cyborg." Gizmo finished, mustering the resolve to speak. "Then that leaves a Starfire."

"I could be a Starfire. But I have better curves..."

Instead of continuing to be scared, Jinx just glared at him.

Unlike Jinx, who slowly became calm, Gizmo remained fearful. "You killed Mammoth."

"He wasn't even literate enough to be considered a human being. We're your friends now."

"Heroes don't kill," Gizmo pressed on. "You shouldn't even be with the Titans...let alone outside of a prison."

"It's not like the H.I.V.E. is any better than me. You and I are both villains."

Red-X remained silent, content to just watching Beast Boy speak and verbally spar with the two other teens.

"What does being a villain mean to you?" Jinx interrupted, looking to Gizmo. Despite the short boy's technological knowledge, it was Jinx who possessed the practical knowledge to lead her former H.I.V.E. group. She knew the proper time to pick fights.

"Good question. I want to control all crime in Jump."

It sounded childish and simple, but Beast Boy's cracked inflection made it seem all the more crazed.

Jinx asked one word, all she could muster to that. "Why?"

"The war between heroes and villains will always continue. Crime will never end. I want the fame of faking being a hero and the wealth and power of a villain. I want my teammates to be puppets in a game I've created...oh wait, I'm just bored. No one kills here. There is no fatality in Jump."

"Boredom?" Gizmo coughed out, biting back his rage."

"Are you angry because you're so short? Is it a Napolean-complex?"

"You killed our friend, you sick bastard!" Gizmo yelled out before Jinx pushed him back against the couch.

"Be a nice boy or I'll have to put you in timeout for that language, Gizmo." Beast Boy laughed to himself, getting up to stand with his face mere inches from the shorter boy. "I wouldn't even have to transform into a larger snake to end you. A garden-snake could do."

"He just needs to get over Mammoth's death. Please, don't kill him." Jinx looked to him, her eyes pleading earnestly despite her usually cruel nature. Beast Boy hasn't chosen her because of her kindness, but he could offer her this small mercy.

"I need him. Like I said before, I need my Cyborg. My technological wonder." Beast Boy walked back over to his couch, letting Jinx deal with Gizmo.

Red-X finally spoke, "You still haven't told us our purpose...our purpose for a team that is even missing a Starfire."

"We will become Jump's best and only criminals. You could almost say we're good guys...in that sexy anti-hero kind of way."

"You said you wanted to control this city's crime. You didn't say anything about ending it." Jinx spoke, her hold on Gizmo easing as he calmed down.

He wouldn't attack, but his temper might still be baited.

"That I did."

"That includes the thieving, but also the drugs..." Jinx gulped. "We're just teens."

"Really? You're worried about drugs when I murdered your friend?"

"You're not going to finish more people though."

"That was my entire plan. We're cleaning up and replacing all of the villains and heroes in this city. I have chosen you three to help me and live. I will find a fourth eventually and may leave that to someone of your choosing. Other than us, all of the criminals will be cleaned away by the end of the year."

"That's insane and impossible. We'll die. We can't fight the likes of Slade."

"A child can't fight Slade, but a psychotic thief, a crazed shapeshifter, and two former H.I.V.E. members whose minds have deteriorated by the death of their friend are not children. We're lunatics set loose on a kid's playground."

"Do Gizmo and I have a choice to say no?"

"Just because this apartment around us looks so nice doesn't mean I am. It is just as disposable as you."

"Will we live through this?" Gizmo spoke, his anger dying away into melancholy.

"You've lived this far."

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><p>"How long do you think we'll live?" Gizmo asked his pink-haired friend. The two had gone back to the boy genius' home and were currently surrounded by a nest of computers and wires.<p>

"We don't have a choice." Jinx sighed.

"We could ask someone for help."

"Then that someone would just become Beast Boy's next target."

Unlike before, Gizmo felt no anger towards Jinx. "He can't be that powerful. The Beast Boy who I helped erase Cyborg's virus was an idiot."

Jinx looked at him, almost sadly. Gizmo still couldn't get over Mammoth's death nor could he understand the current criminal order. "He has changed and it's best we change with him."

"We'll die."

"I think it's clear the other villains, our friends...will die."

"So you really believe what he said? What's his motive, Jinx? You're just accepting a whole lot of crazy."

Gizmo almost couldn't look at her, his irritation swimming through him. He could never hate his friend, for their bond had lasted years. She was all that was left of his team.

"I don't know why he's doing anything. He danced around answering us for a reason."

"What about Red-X? How does he fit into all of this?"

"Probably just like us. I think we should be more concerned on who the fifth member of our team, our 'Starfire,' will be. Someone else in Jump will live."

"It should have been Mammoth!" Gizmo cried out. His emotions bubbling to the front once again.

He hadn't taken Mammoth's death well. It might not even have been the friendship that he truly mourned; Mammoth's death was a symbol. Their childhood had ended and Gizmo was desperately clinging to not growing up.

"You'll forget about him. Beast Boy was at least clear about rewards."

"The rewards...what is wrong with you?" He spoke not out of anger, but a poignant sadness. Jinx had too quickly changed with this new world. Death became her.

"I'm not going to die. We can be rich, Gizmo. We can get revenge on anyone we wanted. We can finally stop acting like little kiddies playing a game of superheroes." The last part sounded bitter, but Gizmo didn't know who it was directed towards.

"The Titans will find out."

"Who knows if there will even be a Titans by the end of the year. We could be both this cities' heroes and villains. We'll replace them..." Jinx seemed to be onto something, pausing and looking away from her partner. "We're replacing them. We're new gods who have arisen to overthrow the Titans."

They didn't know what Beast Boy completely wanted, but a the promise of a new world hung in the air. It would be a world without old rules and older fears. A generation of Titans and villains would be replaced. Beast Boy might never be clear about his purpose, but he was definitely breaking them into a new, crueller world.

Gizmo could never fully accept that brave new world. He would serve Beast Boy alongside Jinx, but the past clung to him.

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><p>Returning to the Tower had Beast Boy on the edge the entire time he flew home. He had chosen to fly as a robin, stopping at parks to rest and admire the pockets of nature within the city. Even in the blandness of Jump, there existed places of beauty.<p>

He took as much time as he could before returning home. Dealing with Gizmo and Jinx had taken away his energy to lie to his fellow Titans. He would sleep when he got home.

He swept into the Tower and avoided his teammates, making a beeline to his room. He was too exhausted to notice another Titan find his way into Beast Boy's room.

Without even a moment to compose himself, Beast Boy was interrupted by Robin. The green hero had to remind himself that Robin's time would not be ended now; otherwise, he would have quickly dealt with the annoyance. He just didn't want to lie and seduce the boy wonder today.

"Beast Boy..." Robin whispered out, kindness warming his words.

"Yes, dude?" Maybe he didn't have to affect kindness; his persona was essentially just saying 'dude' and 'bro' a lot. Beast Boy almost laughed.

"I...I wanted to talk to you."

"Cyborg is gaming if you want to join him."

Beast Boy knew that Robin wouldn't just take the suggestion and leave. The boy blunder wanted something from him.

"I have something to tell you. Can I sit down?"

Beast Boy was still laying on his bead, but rolled slightly to the edge to give Robin room to sit. "Go ahead, dude."

"BB...we've known each other for a while."

"It's been years, yes." Beast Boy couldn't help but be sarcastic. He might have been too tired to be angry, but he wasn't tired enough to not realize where this was going. Weeks of flirting and manipulating Robin were culminating now, which was the worst day.

"I...I think I know what you're going to say." Beast Boy continued, trying to affect the same quivering tone as Robin. He got up and sat next to the boy, sitting mere inches away.

"I didn't think you knew."

"I've been trying to get your attention for a while." He moved closer, his eyes closing.

Robin unceremoniously jammed their mouths together. It was awkwardly and so much like a teenager. All Beast Boy could comfort himself was with thoughts of Robin's eventual elimination. He only needed to play the part of Robin's boyfriend until he could defeat both the city's villains and the Titans. Hopefully, that distraction wouldn't have to continue long.

Beast Boy tried thinking of his plans for the city as Robin slowly forced his tongue into Beast Boy's mouth, but his mind suddenly changed to a vision of Red-X. In his thoughts, the thief seemed to be smirking at him.

It was as if the thief knew whose feelings Beast Boy truly possessed. Unlike the crude, teenager affections of Robin, Red-X was a darker desire. It was an attraction of obsession and psychosis, someone who had seen Beast Boy for who he truly was and still kept watching.

Red-X and Robin, man and child. Beast Boy's madness could only choose one, choosing the life that Red-X entailed.

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><p>AN: It has taken two years, but I will finally start to write and finish this story. The feedback was amazing.<p> 


	4. Months of Planning and Years of Hate

Chapter 4: Months of Planning and Years of Hate.

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><p>Although Beast Boy had arrived back at the Tower around the afternoon, Robin had too quickly dropped the rest of his training for the day to sleep and cuddle with the green boy.<p>

It made Beast Boy absolutely sick. With every kiss, he bit back the disgust brewing within his body.

Not even a lifetime of romance novels could prepare anyone for Robin's trite attempts at declaring his love. Robin acted all too their age and it deeply bothered Beast Boy. Robin was either completely normal and Beast Boy was the weird one or years of living with the Batman had made the boy wonder desperate for affection.

Robin was awkward; his kisses were more so jabs in battle than tender expressions of love. Beast Boy almost wished the rumors of Batman being involved with his protegé had been true; it would have made the boy wonder at least a decent kisser. Somehow he didn't think saying 'kiss me like Batman kisses you' would have gone over too well...

Beast Boy blinked at Robin, watching the older teen move behind him.

"I've never felt this way before, BB." Robin whispered into his ear, nibbling it before forcing another kiss onto him. It was an assault and all Beast Boy could do was fake his way through. Robin would become suspicious otherwise.

If Beast Boy would have pushed the brooding detective away, questions would be raised. His once free schedule, which allowed him to meet with his new team, would be watched. Robin would seek the root of any angry outburst. He's rather have a Robin who wanted to waste all of his time than a Robin made self-aware of how he was acting.

So he faked it. He smiled and beamed at Robin, petting his hair before planting softer, more sensual kisses of his own. "Me too, Robin."

Robin held him, still forcefully as if Beast Boy was a bird that was suddenly and quite violently caged. He had once found his manipulation of Robin's feelings to be fun. Now, all he wanted was freedom.

He couldn't kill Robin; not yet. But maybe he could nudge Robin out of this situation...and not out of the nearest window. They were still in Beast Boy's bed as the afternoon hours had died away into the night. He needed sleep and not a forced show of comfort for the boy blunder.

"Rob, what will Starfire think?" The question seemed to catch Robin off-guard.

"What do you mean?" His voice registered a little lower, a little too much more possessive for Beast Boy's comfort.

"She loves you."

"I love you." Robin wrapped his arms around his chest, pushing them together yet keeping their faces slightly apart. They were not kissing for what seemed like the first time in hours.

The air felt exquisite.

"She always looks at me weirdly. I don't think she'll handle this...us well." For an extra measure, he added, "I just love you too much to lose you."

"Starfire isn't jealous."

"I feel like I'm always fighting with her for your time. She rarely ever leaves your side..."

"BB, you're the one who sounds jealous," Robin planted a kiss on his forehead. "It's cute though. It suits how cutely green you are."

Oh, Robin would meet a terrible end. Beast Boy promised that to himself.

"Listen to me. She won't take this well."

"She's a member of the team and our friend. She will accept this."

Robin was not backing off. Beast Boy needed an exit before Robin started permanently living in his quarters.

"Okay, Rob. But...can we sleep apart tonight? I'm...self-conscious about myself."

At this point, he didn't have a plan to get rid of Robin. He was going to have to meet Red-X later tonight and was not past word-vomitting whatever worked to get rid of the older teen.

"You shouldn't be...I love you just the way you are."

Robin was so sappy, Beast Boy was tempted to just transform into a fly then retransform into a dinosaur in his mouth. Baby bird was going the explode if he kept up this level of chessiness.

"Can you though? Please?"

Robin snuggled once again, but succumbed. "Alright. I want to be able to cuddle with you. Being close with you helped me get through a tough day."

By that, Robin meant a tough day of training. The boy wonder would be horrified to learn of Beast Boy's tough day: plotting the deaths of the Teen Titans. Threatening Jinx and Gizmo was tough, not doing showy acrobatic flips across the Tower's gym.

"I'll miss you." Beast Boy stood up and led Robin to the door, planting a kiss on the older teen's lips.

His plan to seduce Robin was only going to complicate his criminal life further. Robin must be kept in romantic bliss, because the boy seemed to be teetering into an obsession with stalking Beast Boy. Robin could not follow and watch him.

It would ruin months of planning and years of hate.

* * *

><p>This time, Red-X had chosen a park to meet up. The apartment from earlier that morning had already been reported as being burglarized, but there were no suspects.<p>

Red-X didn't get caught unless he wanted a fight. Beast Boy hadn't ever realized just how good Red-X was at stealing. The thief only got caught when he wanted the Teen Titans to show up. He found their absurdity fun; the reward even sweeter when the Titans had lost.

Beast Boy had underestimated him.

In the dark of the park, Beast Boy's heightened senses found Red-X. His smell of the thief was becoming stronger, as if he was branding his husky scent into the green hero's mind. By contrast, Robin smelt sweaty to the point of being spoiled. He couldn't help but feel distaste for the boy blunder.

Unlike Robin, there was no one like Red-X. That statement should have felt just as cheesy as what he said to Robin, but somehow when describing Red-X, it felt all the more mysterious and enigmatic.

Red-X was Batman-like in his mystery and commandment of the night. Robin was a teen, but more so a boy, too scared and paranoid to inspire that kind of beauty.

"So what did you think of my little show this morning?" Beast Boy broke the silence, walking over to the park bench that Red-X sat on. The park was decently covered in larger trees, masking the streetlights around it. They were in a more upscale neighborhood, so there probably wasn't anyone sleeping in the park. The park was new and kept, nothing like the abandoned building they had first met it. Even the bench was as sleek as the thief himself.

Beast Boy felt his most normal in the dark. At night, during the darkest of hours, his green skin couldn't be made out. He could pass for a regular human. Red-X and him must have looked normal right now; two lovers caught in the night's sweet embrace...

He did not just think that. Dealing with Robin was warping his senses. Only a fool would project his false feelings for the boy blunder onto the closest male. Red-X was his new teammate, nothing more.

The silence of the night mocked Beast Boy's thoughts, but luckily Red-X cleared his throat and started speaking.

"I don't know what your motives are. Not completely."

"It doesn't matter." Beast Boy looked out onto the shadows of grass and listened to the sound of nature all alive around him. It was inviting and anxious.

"I don't risk my live for just anyone." Red-X inched closer. Beast Boy fully knew he could act on where this was leading. He could ensnare Red-X. He could also be a better man and push him away.

Thankfully, Beast Boy was a selfish man.

"Then why do it? I didn't have to threaten you. You know I could kill you. I could become a lion and maim you."

Beast Boy turned back, moving closer to the thief and continued. "But you still don't fear me, despite all of that. You welcome me."

"You wouldn't kill me."

Speckled light from the stars illuminated Beast Boy's eyes. Red-X still wore his mask, but he had never seen the thief so vulnerable.

"I have killed, you know."

"I haven't seen it. You could just have known about his death in advance and used it. You are a liar, especially to your friends."

Beast Boy flicked his tongue, biting back his surprise. "You know I did it."

"True, but I didn't see it. I want to see what makes you a self-confessed new breed of criminal. I want to see your work."

The green hero didn't know if they were seconds from kissing or waging an all-out war on each other. The mood was tense, but playfully so. He didn't feel disgusted like he did with Robin. The boy blunder was predictable and simplistic; Red-X was always fresh, beaming with the cool energy of the night around them.

A lesser man or woman would have easily done anything for the thief. Beast Boy must maintain some sense of dominance as the leader. He wanted to say no, but his darkened urges surged in the presence of the thief.

Months of planning and years of hate boiled into minutes of intoxication merely being around Red-X.

He needed to regain composure. "I will prove it. Name a villain and I will finish it."

"I didn't come here empty-handed...and before you speak, no I didn't bring something I stole from that apartment. Well, not exactly..."

Red-X rose, reaching out his hand. Beast Boy grasped it, letting himself be led out of the clearing behind a set of trees next to them. Within this grouping of tress, there was a small enclosed space.

In the light of the stars, he saw a fat bound teen before them.

Control Freak still looked greasy in the night. His eyes searched wildly, his gag humming as he tried to scream.

"It hasn't even been a full-day since I've unveiled my plan and you brought me him."

"You might be a better killer than me, but you missed whose apartment we met in. Control Freak, like any villain, has a family."

Beast Boy walked towards Control Freak, ripping the gag from his mouth.

"Thank you! Save me from this freak!"

"You think I'm going to save you?"

Beast Boy kicked the bound villain, before turning towards Red-X. "I don't know what to say."

"The don't say anything. Enjoy."

"I...I..." Beast Boy ignored Control Freak's flailing and looked up at the thief. He quickly moved his mask to unveil his mouth.

Red-X leaned forward, slowly pressing his lips on Beast Boy's neck, before trickling up and finally dominating his lips. Red-X pushed away, watching a beguiled Beast Boy gasp for air.

Robin could take hours and only arouse his disgust, but Red-X unwound his cool dominance in seconds.

Control Freak had stopped moving, confused by the situation. This should have been his opportunity to escape.

"I don't know what came over me." Beast Boy paused, forcing himself to turn and face Control Freak.

"Red, you're such a good boy taking me on a date and...dinner." Joking helped ease the slip in his judgement.

Red-X didn't say anything, for he didn't need to. Underneath that mask, Beast Boy knew he would be smirking. The thief had won.

Beast Boy laughed out, transforming into a lion.

Control Freak, even if his restraints were let loose, could never have outrun Beast Boy. His screams became muted, blurring in the sounds of a city welcoming its darkest child at night.

Death became Beast Boy. The night clung to its new champion.

* * *

><p>AN: To prove my dedication to finishing this story, I've updated within a day of my last chapter. Thank you again for the positive feedback. I also have another chapter that will be uploaded tomorrow.<p> 


	5. Truly Odd, but Boldly Beautiful

Chapter 5: Truly Odd, but Boldly Beautiful

* * *

><p>Beast Boy didn't know how long they stayed in the park. He had never felt this content, this full...<p>

It was so romantically sweet and dangerously horrifying.

Of course, they had moved away from what remained of Control Freak. No police had arrived, but Red-X assured Beast Boy that he would deal with it.

"Let's just walk, Red."

Red-X had readjusted his mask, taking Beast Boy by the hand as they walked around the park and onto the streets. It was several hours past midnight. Few people would be out; it was a little past clubbing and too early for even the early-risers. There would be no dog-walkers to stumble upon Control Freak's body for several hours.

Logically, Beast Boy should have instantly cared for hiding the body, but that bliss, dark and enigmatic as the thief before him, blinded him to such concerns.

"I didn't think you would do it, BB." Red-X said as they crossed the street and walked by various houses in the more well-to-do neighborhood. If the cops were called on them, Beast Boy could fake trying to capture Red-X. Being a well-established hero blinded people to the absurdity of him being out at this time in the hand of a well-known thief.

"I told you that I'm a killer."

"I know, but I expected you to make me do it."

Beast Boy laughed without sounding crazy despite the situation. For a second, he could just close his eyes and pretend that everything was normal, but he no longer cared for normalcy.

He relished crime and chaos.

"Is that too dirty for a thief?"

"What? I don't exactly have the teeth to eat a man."

"No, but you certainly have the mouth to." Beast Boy snickered, making himself more assertive than when he was with Robin. He was too passive with the boy blunder.

Red-X kept him active and anxious, but he selfishly loved it.

They passed in silence for a few more blocks, before Red-X spoke. "Do you really think you can take on Jump's villains? That sounds too heroic. Because I was totally fine with the murder."

Both of them laughed, but the green hero caught the serious first half of what Red-X said. "Only Slade could be a real problem. The H.I.V.E. might not even care to become involved in this city anymore, beyond hiding Mammoth's body."

"You didn't hide it? Aren't you worried?"

"Says the man who left Control Freak's mangled body back at the park. I thought your mom taught you to clean up after yourself, young man."

Red-X laughed before calming down. "Jinx is taking care of him. She was eager to prove herself useful."

"She's taken to our cause quickly. I wouldn't be surprised for her to gift me a hand-sewn outfit made from what's left of the nerd." In another life, Beast Boy would have never even said that jokingly.

"But still...what if the H.I.V.E. retaliates? Gizmo is upset over Mammoth's death. I don't think Jinx would betray you, but she was their leader."

"That academy has been shut down. I don't know what remains of the other two H.I.V.E. Five members Jinx led, but I could test her by assigning her their deaths...or kidnappings. More importantly, Gizmo needs to be broken."

"You're really going to keep the midget? It's almost cruel..." Red-X mockingly gasped.

"He is our Cyborg. Jinx and him have history and I want to see how it plays out. Our Starfire won't be as interesting as how messed up those two may become."

"It'll be Blackfire, right?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure where to find her. Robin's intel and Cyborg's technology aren't the best at tracking an alien princess."

"I've never met her, but you could easily find out from the villains you'll fight. You might be able to combine your goals and conceal your murders as but a consequence of your quest to find her."

"Hmm...I'll think about it. Torture doesn't sound as fun as a...somewhat fair...fight."

"Control Freak tied up behind the tress wasn't fair."

"Control Freak given an atomic bomb still wouldn't be fair. Some villains here are just that inept."

They laughed together, aware of only each other in the night. There was no sights worth seeing beyond each other's bodies.

"So what happens when we remain the last villains here?"

"You're such a mysterious man, but you won't let me keep my secrets, will you?"

"I trust you."

Beast Boy didn't respond, but there was an implication in his stance that he felt the same way. Red-X just seemed to instantly understand.

"Red, even if this was something as simple as a revenge quest, I know you would still help me."

"I would."

"Then let me keep my secrets. Unlike Gizmo, I would be bothered if you died."

With that, they walked in silence, but still with the same bliss from before. They both would squeeze each other's hands as they watched the light pour into the darkness, welcoming a new morning in Jump.

In the light, they were truly odd, but boldly beautiful together. Beast Boy wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

><p>Starfire paced in the kitchen, waiting for Raven or Cyborg to show up. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Robin had immediately left her to chase after Beast Boy.<p>

Even though she was the true alien, it was Beast Boy who looked the part. He was too different...she had never even met an alien race like the green, fanged freak. He was no good for Robin.

Robin was meant for her. Starfire was made for her leader. Their romance could have been as simple as the plot of a children's TV show, but Beast Boy, that unknown green variable had broken the beauty of that dream.

Beast Boy, with his weird cat-like movements had seduced Robin. Starfire had worked for Robin's affections, putting on a bubbly personality and even ditzier attire. She was a hot alien fantasy that no one could resist; Robin shouldn't have been a challenge.

Disrupting her thoughts, Raven flew into the room to sit on the couch. She nodded as she passed Starfire, cracking the slightest smile. A less observant person would have missed it. The alien was too trained from noticing body signals from observing Robin. Raven considered her a friend and could be used against Beast Boy.

"Raven! My friend!"

Starfire flew over, gliding herself next to Raven. She could fake joy easily. The joy at seizing Robin drove her.

Raven sensed Starfire's happiness, which in turn, eased her own dour demeanor. "Starfire, how are you?"

"Raven, Robin is away with Beast Boy making strange noises like the wild call of a Klaborgac hunt."

Half the time, Starfire just made up random alien-sounding words to disorient her teammates. It didn't take much for them to underestimate her. She was trapped in this world and would fully establish herself in it not as a queen, but as the wife of the Titan's leader. She could wait years for Robin to blossom into the new Batman and control the League. The old heroes would die out and she would join her Robin in becoming them.

"Ah...Starfire..." Raven said awkwardly. Perhaps Starfire should have said something a little more naïve. She had somehow slipped an innuendo into alien gobbledigook.

"Robin had promised himself to me during the flowering season."

She loved playing ignorant. Her crazed alien sayings were worthy of any of the reality TV shows she watched. Her romance was all the more dramatic and stronger. Unlike those women, she truly knew Robin would be hers. Beast Boy would be nullified.

"Star...it's okay to be jealous."

"What is this jealousy you speak of?"

Sure it had been years since her arrival on Earth, but she loved how awkward she could make Raven. The witch's emotions were easier to play with than Robin's. Every word Starfire spoke twisted Raven's nerves and revealed how all-too-human the witch was.

"You want Robin...for the flowering season. He's already been pollinated by Beast Boy."

Instead of asking another question, Starfire slightly slipped and quickly retorted. "I'm sure Robin would be the one doing the pollinating."

Raven hadn't missed how self-aware that momentary slip and flash in her eyes had been.

"I shouldn't have asked." Starfire attempted to get up but Raven grasped her arm and stopped her.

"You don't need him, Starfire. Some people just aren't worth it."

"I don't understand. Maybe I'll ask Cyborg."

Starfire tried flying away but Raven clasped harder. "Listen me, Starfire. Robin is a lost cause. Maybe you've been looking for the wrong...flower."

Raven was a mongrel who had no right tainting her. She had no right twisting her words. Robin was hers to possess; she would not be owned by a common hocus pocus witch.

"I can't do this." Starfire ripped herself away from Raven and flew away, not caring to find Cyborg. She needed to think and plan.

In her quest for Robin, their would be struggles along the way. Raven must be ignored or dealt with.

Later that night, images of her tormentors possessed her dreams. The faces of Beast Boy and Raven taunted her. Eventually, in the haze of her subconscious, Raven's face dominated her mind and ensnared her last dream as she woke to a new morning, sweaty and panting. Her energy had been sapped, her mind felt broken.

In her dreams, Raven and her were dark and too human for her to handle. Starfire couldn't fathom what reality that could have been possible. There was no light in the dark, foreboding dreams of Raven. The witch was a dark, demonic being unlike the saintly grace of her Robin. Robin and her romance would be cemented in the bright flash of their fans and glory.

* * *

><p>As Jinx cleaned her clothes of Control's Freak's blood, she couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching her. That feeling was made all the more weirder that a new morning had welcomed itself, beaming its lights through the windows of her home.<p>

"I wonder what he did with Mammoth's body." Jinx spoke to herself, drying her hands in the kitchen sink. "Maybe I would have wanted to say goodbye."

She looked out of the windows at the skies, letting the light hit her otherwise gloomy face. It was warm and radiant, a new alien feeling descending upon her. The light eased her nerves.

She could find a new life with Beast Boy and Red-X. That team would become a family. That team would command power. For a moment, even her fears of losing Gizmo were lost.

The weeds of villains in Jump would be plucked. In some ways, she was almost becoming a hero, nevermind the lingering images in her head of Control Freak. She could learn to fully believe Beast Boy's vision for Jump, as unclear as it was.

Even what remained of the H.I.V.E. would soon be over. An entire part of her life would be erased. She felt free for the first time since she had become a villain.

In the light, she was truly odd, but boldly beautiful and terrifying. She was a self-realized psychopath and an extraordinarily cheery person.

* * *

><p>AN: I updated again. I'm on a roll. Again, what villains would you like to see appear in this story? I probably can't cover most, so who would you most like to see?<p> 


	6. A Family of Fools

Chapter 6: A Family of Fools

* * *

><p>"Beast Boy named our first target," Jinx spoke, strutting into Gizmo's computer lab.<p>

It had been three days since their first meeting with the green maniac. Gizmo had grown more melancholic, his anger having eroded any happiness the boy genius once held. He was a husk of his former self. Jinx almost pitied him, but perhaps in his despair, the boy could find strength.

Just as she had found it.

Getting rid of Control's Freak's body had been meditative. Washing away that stain had somehow washed away her doubts of joining Beast Boy. The green one held power, enough to create a new order in Jump. Jinx no longer felt like a teenager, she could admit that her childhood had died long ago from being forced into the H.I.V.E. academy.

Beast Boy forced her to admit that she was no longer a child. She had never been a child. Her parents had sold her into the H.I.V.E. academy. Yet none of that mattered beyond the power within her. Like Beast Boy, she could shape the world to her will.

"I thought you would have given up on me." Gizmo broke the awkward silence as Jinx looked around his room. The boy genius had experimented with new tech and wires everywhere, but she didn't know for what reason.

"You've been busy. I hope you're not planning to betray our new team."

She didn't have the energy to joke or even be angry with her friend. Her transformation into becoming an adult had not only purged the despair of Mammoth's death but the honest care for Gizmo. It was now his choice to live or die. Jinx had changed rapidly these past few days and somewhat impossibly, but it was necessary for her new role.

Gizmo clung to the past and his old tech scattered throughout the room. Whatever he had built could give him no salvation. There was no escape in the past.

"I want to live."

"It doesn't look like it. Control Freak is dead."

The differences in their tones represented their current mental states. Jinx was cool and collected whereas Gizmo gaped in shock. The boy genius still felt fear and it showed in his actions despite how sad he seemed when she first arrived.

"Killer Moth will be next..."

"Why did he kill Control Freak?" Gizmo interrupted, not caring for the next target.

Control Freak was a fellow tech-savvy nerd, the similarities were too strong for him to pass up. Control Freak's death taunted him, showing what could happen if the boy genius ever stopped being useful to the team. They had barely started this new team and already blood stained their hands.

"Red-X gifted him to Beast Boy. Such an annoying little runt. Control Freak wouldn't even pass our first year tests at the H.I.V.E."

"He was barely a villain...which is why his death was unnecessary. He wasn't in charge of a criminal syndicate let alone what his mother made for dinner!"

"I don't know why I bother with you. You're either going to help me end Killer Moth or die. There is no point in lamenting some flop villain's death."

"He could have been you...or me."

Jinx raised her eyebrow, cutting back a snicker at Gizmo. "You're afraid and you're alive. I might be your friend, but I'm not your mother to cry on."

With that, Gizmo bit his lip and forced back any more outbursts. "So where do we find Killer Moth?"

"Beast Boy found his home by using Cyborg's tech. Save the nerd-alert discussion on that for another time."

"Is he coming?"

There was only one ubiquitous he. Beast Boy now haunted Gizmo.

"No. Not him or Red-X. It's just you and me."

Gizmo gulped, "I don't know if I can do this."

"I told you to stop this. We know how this night will turn out. We kill him and you'll either cry running to the Titans or toughen up."

With that, he was shocked into silence. He couldn't argue with his friend, who was all that remained of that past shared with Mammoth. The memory of his dead friend and Jinx were pulling him in opposite directions, warring for control over his mind. He could either evolve into a killer or regress into a child.

"Give me a moment to get ready." Gizmo whispered, not catching Jinx' shock at him agreeing to come.

The night would either bring a new life or bound him to an old one. He might die with the memory of Mammoth or push forward past death. Death might just become him.

* * *

><p>When Beast Boy crawled into Kitten's room, his eyes were automatically assaulted by all the pink around him. Killer Moth's daughter certainly lacked taste. It almost made Killer Moth's own get-up classy.<p>

He had assigned Killer Moth to Jinx and Gizmo, but still wasn't sure if they could pull it off. If they failed, Beast Boy could use Kitten's death to wreck Killer's Moth's mental state. Daddy's dearest girl and her world of pink would soon be torn down.

He had taken the form of a cat, befitting the target's name. Despite his cute form, he still looked out-of-place within this pink room. Not only was he green, but there was a cruel glint to his eyes. No cat could ever look that horrible shade of human.

Kitten was sleeping and never could have guessed what he had planned for her. The timing was perfect; Kitten had recently gotten a pet cat, who would be blamed for its master's demise. Beast Boy had set the poor mongrel free, not caring where it went. Anywhere was better than this pink prison.

The girl yawned, rolling back in her bed. Beast Boy crouched further, nuzzling his head to wake her. At first, her hand unconsciously tried pushing him away before she woke up.

"Kitty, I'm tired..." She hadn't even opened her eyes, but still she somehow had the energy to talk like a whiny teenage girl. She embodied all the worst stereotypes of her age.

In other words, she was nothing like Beast Boy.

Instead of waiting for her to move again, he clawed at her face, watching a scream erupt from her. She was shocked and fully deserved it for simply being annoying.

"Kitty!" Her yell pierced the room, but Beast Boy had chosen to strike when her father had been away. There was no one to save her.

She jumped out of the bed, forcing herself to face the cat. Finally, she showed some signs of being a villain. Her father hadn't made her totally inept.

"You're not my cat." She glared at him, as if somehow believing that her eyes could harm him with a single look.

"I know...I'm not the mangy alley cat you've taken in as a pet."

"Where is Kitty?" Kitten clenched her fists, but her stance seemed too shaky for her to be a real threat.

"I set it free. Your cat's life is more important than yours."

Beast Boy readied himself, waiting for the opportune time to pounce.

"DAD!" She called out, but was greeted to nothing but silence in the house.

He laughed. "Daddy's not here. It's just you and me, playing a game of life and death."

The window nearest Kitten shook, bursting open as her boyfriend Fang crawled through the window. The legs of his spider head jumped out in front of Kitten, shielding her from an attack.

"You really picked a bad time, Kitty. My boyfriend was just coming to visit." Once again, she glared, but this time, she actually had some power to make it burn.

Beast Boy hadn't counted on Fang appearing, but no matter. Two villains would be dealt with tonight. Beast Boy shifted his body, turning into a lion to fight Fang. Kitten was too easy of a kill, but hopefully, Fang could make this night entertaining.

Father and daughter. Daughter and boyfriend. A family of fools would meet their end in the night.

* * *

><p>In the abandoned building where Red-X and Beast Boy first met, Jinx and Gizmo waited for Killer Moth.<p>

Red-X had suggested to her that they wait for Killer Moth there. She wouldn't be surprised if the thief was lurking in the shadows, watching for any sign of their defection. If Gizmo would try to leave, Red-X would swoop from the shadows and carry out Beast Boy's work.

If that happened, all Jinx could do was watch.

She gulped, waiting for Killer Moth to appear. Gizmo was silent, but she heard steps from far away inching closer towards them. It wasn't Red-X; the thief possessed a silent grace unlike the lazy and loud stomps of Killer Moth.

Red-X made her contact Killer Moth the day prior, arranging for a deal in growth hormones for his moth experiments. The man had recently lost a string of battles against the Titans, narrowly avoiding the police until now. His stocks diminished and his moth army was but a fraction of its former power. He was desperate. Jinx and Gizmo were going to end a man on his last legs. All of his ridiculous plots with moths would come to an end.

"You're not the usual supplier, Jinx and Gizmo." Killer Mouth called out in the darkness, his body barely illuminated by the street lights piercing through the building's windows. He was calmer than his usual obnoxious self, nothing like his embarrassment of a daughter.

"We've been living off of what we scrapped from the H.I.V.E." Gizmo quickly supplied.

"I'm surprised you didn't use the growth hormone on yourself...you might have grown a few inches even." Killer Moth's voice whipped out. He honestly though of himself as more powerful than the two teens. It showed in his tone.

Gizmo bit back any anger he wanted to unleash, allowing for Jinx to speak. "Do you have the money or not?"

Sure, they really didn't need the money, but Jinx would easily take her cut of it and splurge. If Beast Boy's promises were true, more wealth beamed on the horizon. She didn't need to save whatever she got tonight.

"Why should I pay when I can just take it from two annoying brats?"

There was no money. Killer Moth was probably broke.

Jinx could either keep talking with him, giving her time to launch a sneak attack in the dark, or charge. Either way still ended the same: Killer Moth's wings would be stripped. The villain would be brushed away from this city.

"Lets cut the games and just fight." Gizmo yelled, feeling the tech wrapped around his body. He had enough explosives to destroy several blocks let alone what remained of Killer Moth's army of moths.

Before either Jinx or Gizmo could attack, a battering of wings could be heard throughout the darkness around them. They beat wildly, mixing with the sound of Killer Mouth's even wilder laughter.

Beast Boy had definitely chosen the easier target tonight. But if Jinx finished the job, she would have proven herself without a doubt worthy of the new team. At the promise of wealth and status before her, Jinx launched herself forward, casting away any fear of the moths about to swoop.

* * *

><p>Beast Boy lunged at Fang, tearing a third leg off of his spider head. The freak was still fighting as Kitten alternated between hiding behind her bed and throwing whatever she could get her hands on.<p>

Suddenly, a lamp was flung at Beast Boy, narrowly missing him as he clawed at Fang.

"That wasn't nice!" Beast Boy roared out. He was not annoyed but actually thrilled that Kitten and Fang were biting back.

Unluckily for them, this fight couldn't last song. Beast Boy had to finish the job before Kitten's neighbors alerted the police...or worse, the Titans. He was too involved in the fight to also come up with an excuse if the Titans came.

Finally, Beast Boy took one last swoop of his right claw, tearing away at Fang's monstrous face. Kitten's boyfriend soon crumbled to the floor with a loud thud. Beast Boy might have had the strength to kill, but he didn't have the finesse for quietness.

* * *

><p>Jinx dodged Killer Moth's claws as Gizmo flew around them, fighting what remained of the moth army.<p>

Beside her own panting, the room was loud and booming with the sound of Gizmo flying and the moths beating. It was disorienting, testing the very limits of Jinx' concentration. Despite occasional slips and successful strikes from Killer Moth, Jinx still had an advantage. She still clung to her goal.

"You're stronger than I thought, brat." Killer Moth hissed out, hoping to take another swipe.

Jinx quickly dodged out of his way and flung herself farther into the dark, behind a support beam. Her breath was harsh; her heart was rapid. She needed to act now or he would soon hear his way to her. Without thinking, Jinx focused her energy blasts against the support beam, watching it surge in pink light.

She rolled and ducked out-of-the-way, watching it and chunks of the floor it had helped support topple onto an approaching Killer Moth.

"Gizmo!" She yelled out to her friend, who was still fighting the moths. Despite the loss of their leader, their minds still hungered for their new prey. "We have to leave now!"

These split seconds would make all the difference; although Jinx could barely see, she could hear the walls of the building creaking around her. Her and Gizmo would either live another day or die among the moths.

Gizmo swooped down and picked her up, his eyes aided by night vision goggles. All around them, walls started collapsing. Windows shattered. The remains of this building were finally breaking onto themselves.

Ahead, Gizmo flew towards an exposed hole in the building's wall. Some of the moths had given up, but others still pursued them, hellbent on finishing their master's last attack.

Jinx pushed her energy into her hands, not letting it be unleashed. She could make out vague shadows around her, slightly illuminated by the pink light.

A moth was zooming in on them, but a chuck of the ceiling sent it crashing down. Finally, Gizmo and Jinx pushed through the hole, coming into the outside just as the building crumbled around them. The wall had grazed Gizmo's tech, forcing it into a tailspin towards the ground.

They were going to crash.

And Jinx, with her powers, could only make it worse. She reabsorbed the energy into her body, bracing herself for impact.

* * *

><p>"Your boyfriend was fun, Kitten." Beast Boy spoke as he transformed back into a human.<p>

Kitten had stopped hiding behind the bed and had risen to face him. None of her childish taunting was left; she was afraid. Even her body twitched.

"You're one of the good guys." Her voice broke out. Her hair was matted and sweaty; she was unfit for battle let alone a high school gym class.

"And you're such a good girl, but we both know that isn't true."

His eyes held power and hers held a deep sadness. Fear had somehow given Kitten depth as a person.

"I'll make this quick because Fang put on such a fun fight."

"Please don't!" She tried to scream, but Beast Boy quickly shifted into a Black Mamba and lunged at her, biting into her chest.

Even if the police would arrive, she would have been dead before they got there.

* * *

><p>AN: I don't know how I've gone from 2 chapters 2 years ago to four new chapters in the past few days.<p> 


	7. A Lifetime of Darkness

Chapter 7: A Lifetime of Darkness

* * *

><p>She blinked her eyes, waking from the haze of unconscious. Jinx was alive. All at one, images of her mission with Gizmo bombarded her. Jinx had finished her target. It wasn't graceful or artfully done; his death was crude and lazy, befitting a b-rate villain like Killer Moth. She had struggled and survived.<p>

"Where am I?" Her voice slipped out, dry and groggy. Even though she was awake, her mind teetered between sleep and becoming fully awake.

"You're alive, Jinx." Beast Boy spoke, leaning over her. Red-X stood by, inspecting her vitals in some makeshift infirmary.

"Where's...where's Gizmo?" Her voice cracked out, trying to find the strength to speak.

"He's here. Don't worry. I'm surprised he didn't betray us. I was...wrong." Beast Boy happily smiled, resting his hand on her shoulder in comfort. "We're in temporary headquarters. Red-X was watching your battle."

"I knew he was..." She closed her eyes, still remaining awake but basking in the soreness that consumed her body. She wouldn't move quickly.

"You did well, Jinx. Better than I did even."

Red-X had stopped watching her, preferring to observe Beast Boy. It was almost a modern form of idol-worship. Jinx would have laughed at them if she had the energy.

"What happened to you?" She grumbled.

"Kitten was an easy target, but I didn't count on her boyfriend Fang showing up. Or her even dating him still. I mean really. What girl dates a guy with a giant spider for a head? Well...I might..." Beast Boy said jokingly, watching Jinx cough out a snicker.

"You could handle that."

"It was fun. I even tore off some of his spider legs. But...I was kind of noisy. The police were called before I could dispose of Kitten's body." Beast Boy sighed, embarrassed at not making a clean kill. It comforted him that Jinx had also done her mission sloppily.

"Kitten...so what happened to Fang?"

"My lion-form...was hungry. We don't need to get into specifics. Luckily, there aren't any leads, but the police know a Black Mamba was the cause of Kitten's death. They won't find Fang."

"I don't even know what's going on." Her body was possessed with a mix of drugs and pain.

"Since we don't have Mammoth's body, I was wondering if you could warn your other H.I.V.E members that a snake-based vigilante is killing off villains. Word should spread from them throughout Jump and hopefully lead the Titans on the wrong trail."

"That's fine." Jinx mustered, yawing in the process.

Beast Boy smiled, preferring how agreeable she was. Whether it was from the pain or having successfully offed Killer Moth, Jinx would agree to anything now.

"Even though they'll die anyway?" Jinx continued, disrupting Beast Boy's thoughts.

"Yes. They'll trust you. They'll warn other villains and it'll get back to the Titans. In the meantime, we can possibly frame any snake villain or just divert their suspicions."

"That's fine. As long as Gizmo's okay." Jinx opened her eyes, lazily turning to Beast Boy. He smiled for her.

"Now, just get some sleep. You and Gizmo will be given a few days of rest."

Beast Boy and Red-X left the room, moving to the thief's bedroom. Even Beast Boy didn't know the exact location of Red's home, but that could easily be changed...if he cared.

There existed few secrets between the two; they were equals partnered in darkness.

* * *

><p>"I was sloppy, Red." Beast Boy spoke.<p>

"It might come to our advantage. You're not known for turning into a venomous snake. If you keep up being a Black Mamba for future targets whose bodies are found, we might be able to fake a Kill Bill-crazed snake vigilante."

Red-X had removed his mask, but he still kept the room fairly dark. Beast Boy wouldn't be able to make out the smallest details and be able to identify him. It didn't really matter; Beast Boy wouldn't have betrayed him.

"That vigilante might even be liked by the people in this city." Beast Boy lay down on the thief's bed, arms outstretched waiting for Red to curl up with him. It was over-sentimental and nothing like the dark reputation he wanted, but he still craved affection from the taller teen.

He was selfish and love himself the more for it.

"You'll be liked by the people...even if they found out who you were." Red-X both wanted to comfort Beast Boy and pry answers out of him. Eventually, the goals of his green lover would be deciphered.

"Really?" Beast Boy jokingly awed.

"No way in hell, but...that's just's a fact." Red-X laughed, swooping down to cuddle against his green lover.

"Things have somehow been going well for us." Beast Boy said softy, shifting so he could stare in the thief's eyes. "Even with that collapsed building and Kitten, no one suspects us."

"What would happen if your team found out?"

"They will. Even if it's after one kill or ten, they'll eventually figure it out. It'll just be a game of who will figure it first. I'm betting on Robin, but maybe Raven could actually break my mind and pry a confession from me."

Red-X lowered his head, trailing his lips upwards on Beast Boy's neck. "You say it so calmly. But I trust you, BB."

"If it was just you and me, we could still take them."

"Would you do it, though? Finish off your friends? You've known them for years..." The thief paused, slightly worried for the green hero.

"I've wanted nothing more for years...except for someone like you."

Beast Boy sounded so vulnerable, so he forced himself into silence as he hugged the thief. He didn't want to trip over his words and reveal too much too his lover.

They lay there, seeking comfort in the warmth of their bodies. Beast Boy passed the time tracing patterns on the thief's body, thinking about his fellow Titans. Red-X might be onto something; sure, Beast Boy had wanted to end the Titans for years, but he had never seemed close to it actually happening. What once had been an abstract was now coming into shape.

Beast Boy needed to cast away any lingering doubts towards his team and embrace the new life he was creating. He had Red-X; he had a life of acceptance. A lifetime of darkness was encroaching.

* * *

><p>"Raven." Robin stood outside of the witch's room, darting in as the door opened. "We need to talk...in private."<p>

He hadn't waited for her to respond; he demanded she speak with him. Robin was anxious and irritable, nothing like the zen nature of the witch.

She didn't react too much to Robin; her voice remained dry and apathetic. She didn't even put down the book she was reading. "Fine. Sit down."

Raven couldn't have said anything else, but Robin should have known to be a little kinder. With a flash of the hand, her bedroom was coated in her black magic. None of the other Titans would be able to hear them.

"Kitten is dead." The boy wonder sounded nervous, his mind overworking itself around today's latest mystery. It didn't really make sense to raven why he told her this away from the other Titans.

"Why are you telling me this...in private?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"There wasn't any sign of our usual villains. The police have taken over the investigation and think they don't need us. They're shutting us out."

"Then let them do it alone. Robin, I don't think you're nervous because of...Kitten." Raven paused, almost forgetting the name of the victim.

"Don't you care?" Robin yelled out, pacing back and forth around her. Hopefully, he would see logic.

"Calm down. I think this has to do with something more than Kitten."

"Mammoth also went missing!" He yelled, his voice cracking out.

"Not him either..." Raven took a moment of silent thought, for even she was curious. Regardless, Robin was her friend and some conspiracy with the villains wasn't the bigger problem. "How have things been with Beast Boy?"

He was caught off-guard, pausing to stare at Raven. "I didn't think you knew."

She had guessed to correctly, but it was up to Robin to admit his problems.

"Robin, we share a mental-link. You and him don't exactly hide it either. Starfire also told me..."

"Starfire knows?"

"She...has feelings for you." Raven couldn't be fully honest. She wasn't going to tell Robin that Starfire stalked him and already planned baby names for their marriage.

"That's what Beast Boy said."

"He's right. She's jealous. Give her time. I'll try...calming her down." Raven didn't smile, but the friendly sentiment was the closest she would get to doing so.

Yes, she would comfort Starfire.

"I'm just so wound up by Beast Boy lately. Things have been going so...well...and I worry. I don't know where he always goes off to. I want him here with me all the time. It's safest."

"Beast Boy needs his own life, Robin."

"He doesn't need to be away random hours everyday. I want to know where he's going."

"He could be hanging out with Cyborg. You know, our other friend in the tower. He actually exists." Raven deadpanned.

"I guess..." Robin still didn't sound too sure about admitting how crazy he sounded. "I just worry about him...with all of these recent killings."

"Robin, Kitten was killed and Mammoth disappeared. That doesn't create a pattern."

"I think it does. I'm worried something will happen. Call it a gut feeling."

"Robin, just relax. Find Beast Boy and let him comfort you. Don't overwork yourself." She stared at him, trying to irritatedly push him away. "Don't let this new mystery be the new Slade. You are better than that and so is Beast Boy. Don't put your relationship through that fear. Talk to him."

"But he's gone..." In contrast to his mentor, Robin was an emotional wreck. The taste of loneliness laced his words.

"Wait until he gets back...wait, where is he?"

She hadn't registered Beast Boy's absence at first. Now that she thought about it, the green hero didn't have friends or family outside of the Tower. He was a loner just like her. One or two random absences a week could be fine, but leaving at night was out of character for the shapeshifter.

"He wouldn't say. He's keeping secrets and we haven't even dated a week."

It was times like these that Raven regretted joining the Titans. They could be the best of the friends, but sometimes, they were all too like a teenager to handle. Their hormones ran wild. Robin used to be one of the sane heroes here.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. Maybe he'll tell you soon." It was all she could say.

Robin was annoying her in his persistence for attention. She wasn't going to just drop reading ancient tomes to comfort a lovestruck boy wonder. Despite that, Beast Boy's absences intrigued her. Raven had never sensed anything dark in his mind or any hints of where he could be running off to.

The matter would be investigated, maybe a little more forcefully than when she read his mind in the past.

Beast Boy was not a man of mystery.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm going to try my hardest to update on a daily basis. Regardless, here's another chapter. Thanks again for the positive feedback to those I messaged.<p> 


	8. But I'm Not a Villain

Warnings: More action-related violence.

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: But I'm Not a Villain<p>

* * *

><p>Raven wasn't the all-powerful daughter of a demon. Trigon might have been her father, but her powers still had years of training before she could ever really be great. She might have been able to defeat Jump's villains, but her weaknesses were hidden when fighting with her team. They complemented her, drawing attention where her powers were lacking.<p>

Right now, she could admit the limits of her empathy and her mind-links. Raven could sense their emotions, but not change them. She couldn't probe too deep beyond what they were willing to show.

Beast Boy's mind was clouded. She didn't know where to even look in his mind; it was unknown to her. It felt as if everything she knew about Beast Boy wasn't true, but surely that couldn't be true. She had never really paid attention to Beast Boy's mind beyond sensing his emotions before. Now, she was baffled by how locked it felt.

Raven meditated, focusing her mind on Beast Boy. He had just entered his room with Robin.

Her mind-link with Robin was strong enough for her to sense his emotions without focusing. With little effort, she could communicate and read his base thoughts. Darker magic would have been needed to read his memories and dreams. With Beast Boy, she didn't know what she would have to do to catch a glimpse into the green hero's head.

For now, all she could do was read Robin's thoughts and wait for an opportunity to strike Beast Boy. He had to slip and let his mental defenses fall.

She wouldn't have cared, but the difficulty of this problem had brewed into an obsession. She would wait and let her obsession fester.

* * *

><p>Beast Boy lazily threw himself on his bed, waiting for Robin to pounce and force another cuddling session. Unlike every other day, Robin remained standing in the green hero's room.<p>

The shapeshifter turned to him. "Rob, what's up?"

"You've been missing lately." Robin's voice shook, nervous for both what Beast Boy would say and how he would react.

Beast Boy didn't know what to say. He could try to lie. "When?"

"When haven't you?" Robin quickly supplied, breathing in harshly.

Robin had been acting a little oddly these past few days. Whatever the boy wonder was obsessed with was culminating in this conversation. Beast Boy almost wished they could go back to making out despite how awkward it still felt. A fake romance with their leader should have been easy; Robin was but a boy to him.

"I have a life, Rob." The words came out more coldly than he wanted them to sound. "I mean...I can't always be here with you."

"It's dangerous out there." He said way too seriously, as if the situation was truly life-or-death. In another life, Robin could have been a soap opera star.

"It's Jump. It's the same city it's been since we moved here. We've made it safe."

That sounded like something a sane Beast Boy would have said. Despite that. the irony of the words made him inwardly laugh; he was now making Jump into a truly dangerous city. The mortality rate of villains was soaring.

"You can't run off. It's not safe." His voice was on the verge of yelling, but his love for Beast Boy slightly restrained himself.

"You can't forbid me to do anything. I need...fresh air."

"There's fresh air coming from the vents in the Tower!" Robin retorted, growing more dramatic. Once again, his lines were of pure soap opera highs.

"Dude, calm down. Why can't I go outside?"

Robin paused, biting his bottom lip. "Just trust me."

"Rob, you obviously don't trust me. I'm not some caged bird for you to pet and feed."

"BB..." Robin sat down next to him, staring into the greens of his eyes. "I don't think that...it's just..."

"Just what, Robin? You don't want me to have my own life?"

Beast Boy needed to divert any suspicion of his criminal activities. He didn't care using teenage drama about personal space to do it. For now, confronting Robin about his possessive nature was the only way he could criticize him. Hopefully, the boy blunder would be a drawn-out, violent end.

His dramatic words deserved an even more dramatic end.

"Kitten was found dead!" Robin finally yelled, his voice vibrating throughout the room. If the boy wonder would have caught Beast Boy's expression, he would have seen the brief flicker of disgust in his eyes.

Robin had no tact. Yelling about dead teens to whoever among the Titans could walk by and hear was not the trait of a leader. Beast Boy, despite his faults, wouldn't have been that emotional and bratty.

"Because that has so much to do with me." Beast Boy's voice droned out, sarcastic and biting. He was too tired to play sweet.

"Mammoth is also gone. Someone is out there...someone who can kill. I'm sorry, BB, but I worry for you." Robin quickly held Beast Boy, almost suffocating him. Beast Boy might have glared daggers, but he still needed to act the part of a good boyfriend.

"But I'm not a villain, Robin..." He whispered into Robin's ear, almost believing the words himself.

* * *

><p>During Robin and Beast Boy's fight, the green hero had lapsed. Suddenly, Raven felt a tug inside of Beast Boy's mind: a breaking in his defenses. A memory was suddenly set free, allowing itself to be viewed by the witch.<p>

It had called for dark magic: something she couldn't have used casually on villains. In her frustration, she had turned to her notes from Malchior. Hours of meditation and ancient invocations had freed but one memory from Beast Boy. The magic required her blood, feeding on a more primal power than the magics she was used to. Her obsession had reached a breaking point for her to attempt this. Beast Boy should have been an easy read.

Initially, she had been disappointed by her failure, but upon viewing, questioned how she could ever have been powerful enough to even get this one memory.

Beast Boy wasn't an anti-hero, but a tainted, black-hole of a human being. He was everything people believed her to be. The green...villain...would have made Trigon proud.

* * *

><p>Raven appeared in Beast Boy's memory, which was slightly hazier than real-life. She was in someone's home, but she couldn't guess whose it was. She stood in a living room and could see Beast Boy near the wall closest to the Television.<p>

It was both oh so fitting a place for him to stand and yet so disturbingly wrong.

"Raven, I thought we were friends..." Memory-version Beast Boy called out to her, leaning against the wall. His eyes glared at her, not blinking. His crueller tone and stance seemed too dream-like to be real, but her magic couldn't lie to her.

This memory held truth. She couldn't forget that. Her eyes darted around the room, drinking in its details. Anything could be important later.

"You'll like this one." Beast Boy laughed. He held too much self-awareness for a mere memory.

She noticed something was wrong. Her magic hadn't failed her, but delivered her into a dark hell. Her nerves suddenly began jumping, almost pounding themselves out of her body. Raven couldn't stay her calm usual self.

"Go ahead...I left a present for you in the bedroom. I hope you don't mind it unwrapped."

She really didn't want to find out, but the memory had to be viewed in completion. With no other option, she walked forward, past the snide Beast Boy. She couldn't hear him follow her, but his voice still rung throughout the room.

"I was going to save him for someone else, but I thought I would do it instead. It's for you. You needed to see..."

The bedroom door was closed, but light shot out from the crack underneath it. Even in this memory, she could smell the rot coming from the room. She paused, not wanting to go further. Raven turned around, catching Beast Boy suddenly appear behind her.

"Boo." He laughed out, sinking to his knees howling. "Really...the look on your face. I haven't seen fear on you since Cyborg and I took a little trip in your head. It's only fair really that I host my memory for you in return."

"Beast Boy." Her voice was almost failing her now, even her breath in this dream world became choked. "What have you done?"

"I knew you would eventually see this memory of him, Raven. Even moody, dark Raven gets predictable."

"See who?" She yelled out, her voice trying to end this nightmare.

"He was just like you. Both with dark powers and a darker look to match. Very Hot Topic mall goth. I wouldn't even have to say anything for you to see the similarities. I was going to leave him for a friend to finish, but couldn't resist."

"Who?" Any other words would have failed her.

"Just open the door, Raven."

Gulping, Raven turned and flung open the door without grace or any care to be quiet. Every second made her only dread coming into this memory more. She craved an ending.

Even if it confirmed every dark suspicion about her fellow Titan.

She saw her present flung out on the floor.

Kyd Wykkyd, or Beast Boy's gift to her, had been brutally unwrapped.

By the claws and teeth of Beast Boy's lion transformation.

Even in death, Kyd Wykkyd's face still remained apathetic. The mangled villain seemed all too similar to herself. Her own face could have easily been seen on Kyd Wykkyd's. She could have been the target in his place.

"I know you're toying with my mind, Raven." She was paralyzed into place, too afraid to look behind. "But years of me masking my thoughts wasn't going to be undone by a hack of a witch. You give your powers too much credit."

"We trusted you...I trusted you."

"Raven, I used to feel sorry for you. You and me were the most alike. But you choose your own unhappiness with the Titans. You wanted the life of a good, whiney teenage hero. I didn't. I'm an ugly, green monster who can't hide among normal people. I was forced into a life of cops and robbers with you kiddies." Beast Boy bit back, his words stinging her.

"We help people, Beast Boy. You at least did..."

She didn't know when this altered memory would end or what could happen to her in it. Beast Boy needed to be distracted from hurting her. Even she could predict that without any magic.

"I've gotten so sick of all of you, Raven. Even the villains. I want to reshape Jump. There will be no more annoying pests of villains and heroes like the Titans. I will both save and destroy this city."

Raven couldn't fully understand him. Something had happened to her friend, something unnoticed by the witch for years.

"Why am I still alive?"

"The memory of Kyd Wykkyd's death is a sign. Like our fallen villain, you'll be mute on this matter."

"What did you do?" Even now, she was curious.

"You're not the only one with magic, Raven. I have real friends outside of the Titans. You will be bound from speaking on this. You can't run telling Cyborg, Robin, and precious Starfire what I did. I let you see this. Don't forget that."

"I will find a way to tell them."

"Really? I can smell the fear on you. You're drenched in it. Let's not throw meaningless words at each other."

"Please, don't kill me." Raven called out, turning towards Beast Boy.

Instead of seeing him in his human form, a green lion pounced and bit into the witch. The entire memory-world shook around her, dissolving into the blackness of unconsciousness.

Raven passed out for several days, preserving silence in the Tower. Even if she had woken earlier, Jinx' magic and Beast Boy's mental defenses had bound her into not telling. She would be physically unable.

All she could do was watch as the world of Jump and her friends deteriorated around her.

Some mysteries should never have been solved.

* * *

><p>AN: I'm not sure how big of a role Cyborg will play in the series. I made fun of my own writing of him so far last chapter when Raven tells Robin about Beast Boy: "He could be hanging out with Cyborg. You know, our other friend in the tower. He actually exists."<p> 


	9. A True Friend

Chapter 9: A True Friend

* * *

><p>Cyborg was a true friend.<p>

That was something Beast Boy had forgotten in his hatred. He had blinded himself to just how simple yet strong their friendship could be. Cyborg might not always have been the most serious, but he had a natural wit and likability. Beast Boy and him could banter over video games for hours.

It was nothing like Robin: the emotional roller coaster of the team. Cyborg could also hold a conversation, unlike Starfire would would speak of Nacketls and Yagglebleefs when concocting her native food. The robot also had a positive vibe, nothing like Raven or his newfound partners Gizmo and Jinx. Sure, he now enjoyed the latter two, but they drained his energy in large doses. They were always trying to prove themselves to Beast Boy.

So when Beast Boy entered the kitchen to eat and saw Cyborg watching TV, he sat with his old friend for the first time in nearly a week.

"Dude, what are you watching?" Beast Boy snickered, catching the glimpse of shark-octopus hybrid eating people on the TV screen. Only Cyborg shared his taste in amazingly awful syfy movies.

"Quality entertainment with a five dollar budget."

"Don't lie...you'd act in that movie. Then the movie would at least have to have a six dollar budget."

Cyborg pursed his lips. "That's still to expensive a movie for syfy."

"I've always thought doing a syfy movie was a step below porn...so you should definitely do it. Make the Titans proud."

With his friend, Beast Boy was so unlike who he had been the past week. Cyborg had brought out his past self: it was a way of acting and even walking that he just didn't do anymore.

Things could never have stayed that simple...and nice.

"I haven't seen you in a while, BB." There was no malice to Cyborg's word. He genuinely cared.

"I've been busy...fighting shark monsters." He looked away at the TV screen, feeling too vulnerable around his friend.

Beast Boy might have matured into something darker, but Cyborg brought back his former, childish self. It took all of his concentration not to lapse around the robot.

"I somehow doubt a shark can fit inside of Robin's pants."

Beast Boy just laughed, forgetting how quick Cyborg could be. The robot wasn't blind to the happenings in the Tower. Who knew what else Cyborg had noticed these past few days...

"Are you okay with it?" Beast Boy forced himself to bite his lips, trying to act nervous around Cyborg. He might feel more vulnerable around his old friend, but that didn't mean he couldn't still affect a façade. Playing the part of someone troubled in love with Robin could be easy.

"BB, have I said anything against it lately? Or have I even spoken is a better question..." Cyborg almost laughed to himself.

"So, you're fine with it? Robin and I?"

"No, I hate you and am going to stage an intervention. Yes, I'm fine with it. But you could have told me..."

"I'd forgotten to tell you. I was busy."

"Busy leaving the Tower? Robin thinks you're sneaking off behind his back. Poor bird has got his mind wrecked over you."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes at the mention of the boy blunder. "He stalks me."

"We both know that isn't a surprise."

"Can I fake a shock?" Beast Boy mockingly gasped at his friend.

"Save it for the syfy, BB."

"I don't know what to do. I have to sneak out of the Tower to just breathe by myself." Beast Boy sunk his body down into the couch.

"Maybe you shouldn't be with him. He's your friend and not your soulmate."

"True, my soulmate needs to be able to fight the dreaded Sharktopus." They both laughed, looking again the TV screen and the monster before them.

"I'm serious though...you don't seem happy with Robin."

"We both know that isn't a surprise." Beast Boy repeated Cyborg's line, looking into his teammate's eyes.

"I've noticed you come back from your little trips, BB. I've seen you look happy."

Cyborg wasn't joking right now. His words were too observant and too much like a true friend. He had forgotten how close they were. It hurt him, more than lying to the other Titans or even the kills. Part of him still cared for Cyborg despite what he had become.

"What do you mean?"

"BB, someone is making you smile. Someone...who can kill a Sharktopus." Once again, Cyborg sounded like his usual self. he laughed. "You've been seeing someone. Robin and the rest of the team might not notice, but I know you. You're not smiling all lovey-dovey for no reason."

"I didn't know you knew, Cy." He didn't know what else to say. Too many words spoken could only hurt him later.

"I don't need to know who it is, BB. But you can't keep up stringing Robin along."

Beats Boy looked to Cyborg, wondering about what he said. He couldn't keep stringing not only Robin, but his whole team along. Someday, he would have to stop lying to them. That day would mean the deaths of the Titans. Beast Boy still had a while before he could end them, but he wondered: did he truly want them, despite his hate, to die?

Part of him wanted to just keep on lying about himself and keeping them alive. Despite that, he knew that was impossible. All of his struggles and maturity had led into a new team...composed of a dashing thief, a dayglow-pink witch, and a pint-sized boy genius.

Perhaps Cyborg could also enter that new world...but Beast Boy surely could not save the other Titans. He hated them; he hated the life he was forced into. Their methods were childish; their personalities even more so. Despite all of that, Cyborg was still his friend.

Darkness still brewed within him, but Beast Boy had never felt closer to the robot.

"I just want to know that you'll stay my friend Cy."

Cyborg looked kindly at him, smiling honestly. No words needed to be said; their friendship was also an emotional truth, a bond shared between the two. Beast Boy knew what Cyborg felt.

He had just been to stressed and ignorant to see it before.

* * *

><p>"I've changed my mind." Beast Boy's voice hushed as he sat in Red-X' bed, back in their makeshift headquarters.<p>

The lights around them were still dim, but he could better make out the contours of the thief's face. Red-X was coming to trust him; Beast Boy knew that he soon wouldn't just be kissing a man cloaked in shadows, but be able to see the supple sculpture of his face.

"What do you mean? It's not like you're going to quit this. Bye, just forget I killed people." Red-X laughed hold, sitting so he could hold Beast Boy's back. A dark-chocolately warmth pulsed through his body.

"I don't want Blackfire on our team. We don't need a hack-version of Starfire."

"Will it just be us four then...or are you adding someone else? I'll stand by your decision no matter what."

"It's Cyborg. I just can't kill him. I talked to him this week."

"BB, you sound like you're going soft." The thief laughed in his ear without a trace of anger. "Fine."

"You're okay with it?"

"It's not like you're asking Robin to join us...then I would be worried."

Beast Boy smiled, turning towards his lover. "We'll need Gizmo to hack Cyborg and reprogram him. Not enough to make him mindless, but just enough so he'll join us."

"Gizmo will think you're replacing him."

"Which is why I no longer completely care about making an alternative Titans. We'll still be a five-member group."

"I'll talk to him if you want." Red-X lowered his head and cusped Beast Boy's ear in his mouth. The thief had the sensual ability to multi-task, balancing plans of crime and exotic play with his boyfriend.

"No, I need to be the one."

"I'm glad you're saving him." Red-X let go of Beast Boy's ear, now slightly reddened. "I've always liked him."

"We're not having a three-way." Beast Boy deadpanned before laughing at his boyfriend. "No, I'm just seriously glad you're accepting this."

"I'm there for you. There is no other Beast Boy. Your team is replaceable, but you aren't. He's part of what makes you _you_."

"I don't know what to say."

"You can be vulnerable, BB. It's not going to make you like Robin and the team."

* * *

><p>Beast Boy had originally wanted to arrive unannounced in Gizmo's home, using the element of surprise into forcing the boy genius to agree with his plans for Cyborg. Instead, he called an hour in advance, asking for help in adding a new member to the team. Gizmo was too smart to question further and provoke him. Beast Boy needed to focus; otherwise, the vulnerability and emotional honesty of today might lash out at Gizmo.<p>

The green hero walked downstairs into the tech lair of the boy genius. Beast Boy looked around, not knowing what wires did what or even how to process the sensory overload of tangling wires, boards, and rods. Cyborg would have understood. Perhaps, Gizmo would understand and eventually become a friend to the robot.

"I need you to reprogram a robot." Beast Boy didn't want to use the word friend to describe Cyborg in front of Gizmo. Although true, the boy genius might have become alerted to the word and freak out.

"I can do it." Gizmo paused, putting away whatever he was working on. "It's him...isn't it?"

The boy genius must have long-expected this day to come even if Beast Boy hadn't realized it until now.

"Yes...Gizmo, but I'm not replacing you. Cyborg will be our fifth and final member. You've proven yourself to the team."

Silence passed for several seconds.

"I'll do it. On one condition: I'm putting a failsafe in that clunk of metal. If I die, the programming in his body will shut itself down."

Beast Boy didn't have any alternatives. The other villains in this city needed to die and couldn't be spared for this task. Gizmo was a valued member of his team; if all went well, there would be no reason to worry about Cyborg's possible termination. They could all be a team together.

The green hero gulped, hesitating before answering. "Alright. But, if you kill him just for the fun of it, there will be no one in Jump who can save you. You might have be a genius with tech, but you can't overpower me."

"I know that, Beast Boy. Just calm down and let me plan this. Cyborg will need to be knocked out. It's crude but gets the job done. Then I'll reprogram him."

"I can come back with him in a hour or two. It shouldn't take long."

Beast Boy turned around to leave, before glancing back at the boy genius. "Thank you."

With that, he was gone, leaving the house and flying into the night back to the Tower. Cyborg, his one true friend, would be saved.

Despite the change it would take within him.

* * *

><p>Once again, Beast Boy found Cyborg on the couch. It was late at night; the other Titans had fallen asleep. The robot seemed to be passing between watching TV and completely dozing off.<p>

The green hero didn't transform into an animal. Pushing the strength into his clenched right fist, he swung down on Cyborg from behind, knocking the hero into unconsciousness on the couch. Beast Boy laughed to himself. He could finally drive the T-Car to transport his friend.

Booyah.

* * *

><p>"Lay him down." Gizmo had hooked up sensors around a table, gesturing for Beast Boy to hurry up.<p>

"It's not like you could lift him." Beast Boy huffed, dragging the body before finally pushing it up onto the table. His energy was drained; he might have been able to knock out an already-sleepy robot, but he struggled just to get him here.

"Point out the obvious, snot-brain. Now, let me do my job."

Gizmo hooked up more wires, checking to make sure everything was properly secured. He began prying several plates from Cyborg's body, exposing the circuitry underneath.

"I'm surprised I knocked him out so easily." Beast Boy casually said.

"Maybe he wanted to be knocked out."

Gizmo kept working, but that statement affected Beast Boy. Could Cyborg have wanted to join him? It made their takeover of his internal programming seem almost justified. Cyborg was proving himself again to be a true friend.

"It's done." Gizmo paused, wiping sweat from his brow. "Unless someone else finds and resets him, he's now a willing member of our team."

"Wake him."

The boy genius resupplied Cyborg's exposed plates, pressing an internal switch before the last plate was put on. Suddenly, light beamed from Cyborg as he woke in Gizmo's basement.

"Cy...are you okay?"

"BB..." Cyborg paused, sitting up to stare at the pint-sized boy genius. The two glared at each other. "You could have made a better team than this."

Beast Boy tried covering his laughter, much to Gizmo's annoyance. "You're with us now."

"I know." The robot smiled without fear or anger towards him.

"I'm sorry for forgetting about my best friend...but I have all the time in the world to make it up."

Cyborg would soon join their missions, hunting and destroying the villains of Jump. Eventually, the robot would even help him eliminate their last target: the Titans.

Even with a reprogrammed mind, Cyborg was a true friend. That part wasn't a creation of Gizmo's.

* * *

><p>Back to acting like his usual self, Cyborg hadn't let Beast Boy drive the T-Car back to the Tower. It still wasn't morning; there was no need to be worried about Robin or Raven finding them when they got back.<p>

"You know to hide what happened with them, Cy. Raven knows what I did...but she has been threatened into silence."

"Robin will start digging into where you're going. You need an excuse."

"I have time to come up with something. Right now, I can pull off the 'my boyfriend is too clingy' thing." They both laughed as the car raced through the streets.

"Or just be lazy. Let him find out and die." Cyborg's newfound acceptance of Beast Boy still took getting used to. His tone towards death was shocking, but gladly accepted.

"Cy...I'll be fine. I'm just glad you're back."

"I would have tried joining you, BB."

Beast Boy's eyebrow rose, surprise hitting him. "I can't see you as a killer...back then."

"No, but I would have tried staying with you. I know what it's like to be forced into this life. You and me aren't like Raven and Robin. Even Starfire looks human. We don't. We're freaks."

The words sounded true, almost motivating Beast Boy. Cyborg might have been conflicted, but he could identify with his revenge. The forced life among the Titans would soon be ending. Cyborg must have suspected and let himself be reprogrammed into accepting this new life. With Gizmo' skills, Cyborg would no longer feel remorse or fear. Now, Beast Boy and Cyborg were friends as the former truly was.

"Once again, I forgot. Cy, it's been crazy lately."

"It's fine, but you still haven't told me who you're seeing. We both know it isn't Robin."

Beast Boy paused before speaking, "It's Red-X."

Cyborg laughed, pulling up to the Tower. "Because he's so much different than Robin. Jeez, BB. You know how to pick 'em."

"He's taller at least." Once again, they both laughed as they got out of the car.

"I don't care. I'll meet him soon enough."

"Jinx is also apart of our team."

With the mention of her name, Cyborg's mood slightly changed, but it was just a brief glimpse. He quickly returned to his normal self. "As long as it's not Mother Mae-Eye. She'd be the hottest member of our team." They continued on into the Tower, giggling along the way.

Finally reached the living room, neither noticed Robin standing in the dark waiting for them to return. Suddenly, he turned on the lights in the room, blaring down at Beast Boy and Cyborg.

"You're telling me where you went. Now!" The boy blunder almost growled out at them.

At first, Beast Boy expected Robin to finally know about his criminal life, but that was not the case. Cyborg and Beast Boy had came walking into the tower late in the night, too close together for Robin's comfort. Beast Boy, still tired from loading the robot in and out of the T-Car, slightly limped when walking.

They appeared to be two lovers, coming back at night. Robin was too emotional to suspect the truth. His jealousy clouded rational thought.

"Rob, it's not what it looks like..." Beast Boy tried feigning concern, but was too tired.

"Actually, Robin. It's exactly what it looks like. Cyborg's voice boomed. He look to Beast Boy, his eyes gesturing him to just go along.

Whatever plan the robot had, Beast Boy would go with it. Cyborg, after all, was his true friend.

* * *

><p>AN: I finally included Cyborg! Thanks to <strong>thenormalfreak<strong> for the suggestion :)


	10. Melancholia

Chapter 10: Melancholia

* * *

><p>Robin's lifeless body laid battered against the floor. It was a smudge against the otherwise pure, wholesome atmosphere of the Tower. Innocence had been lost: the thought was so cliché yet it made Beast Boy laugh.<p>

"Dude! You didn't have to kill him...yet." Beast Boy paused and jokingly gasped out that last word.

Cyborg moved towards Beast Boy, his eyes darting towards the doors around the living room. Despite the noise of their quick fight, neither Raven or Starfire had come to help the boy blunder. Even in sleep, they must have heard. Raven had magic to detect such trouble and Starfire wasn't deaf the last time they left her.

Beast Boy gloated about his victory over his fake boyfriend: Robin, the boy who was blundered. Their would be no more lies.

"A couple of punches and he just died. How was I supposed to know he would go down so quickly?"

"Robin going down quickly? Oh, what could that refer to?" The green hero tried pretending to be innocent in his innuendo.

"BB, that boy was way too flexible not to be doing any and all of the things you're thinking," Cyborg smiled. "But seriously, you better have plans to find the other Titans or your plans will be finished."

Beast Boy sighed. "I know. But I'm not the one who lied to Robin that we were dating...then just bashed his head in anyways. There's just so many men...fighting over me." He laughed.

"Don't flatter yourself, BB." Cyborg rolled his eyes before glaring at his friend. His inner sensors were whirling, trying to locate Raven and Starfire in the Tower. Suddenly, his voice emitted, "They're here."

"It's not like it'll be too hard of a fight. Only Raven could be a match for us." Beast Boy said matter-of-factly.

"I killed the love of Starfire's life. She's not going to be calm and let herself die."

"No, she's obviously going to throw herself into the arms of his killer. Pretty normal alien babe stuff."

They laughed, readying themselves for another fight. There was no point in escaping the Tower; Cyborg could track Raven and Starfire. Like Robin, they would be blundered.

The last true Titans would come to an end.

* * *

><p>"We won't win." Starfire looked into Raven's eyes with a poignant sadness. She had already given up. It was ironic how her usual happiness had faded; Raven was the one who held hope.<p>

The two had escaped onto the top of the Tower, waiting to be confronted by Beast Boy and Cyborg. They would either win or die. There was no alternative: if Robin was dead, no one in Jump besides the two girls could be a match for them.

"We can fight." The witch placed her hand on Starfire's shoulder, trying to reassure her. It didn't work. Nothing could have eased the boiling fear in the alien.

"We can fight...but we can't win. Raven, don't lie." The alien looked away, out into the city of Jump. The sky as still dark. It would be several more hours into the morning until it dissolved into a grayish haze.

"Starfire..." Raven gulped, not knowing what to say in her last moments. "I..."

"Raven, don't. Just don't. I don't want to deal with some love confession before we die. You're a loner and learned to find love in your friend...I can already hear you saying it pathetically." Starfire spoke with a slight venom to her words.

The witch paused, dumbstruck at Starfire's bluntness.

"But...I showed you the truth. I couldn't tell you what they were doing, but I could show you them killing Robin. I'm trying to save you...save us."

Raven had sensed a commotion when Beast Boy and Cyborg entered the Tower. She couldn't tell Starfire, but she had been able to show her just as Robin was silenced. Starfire hadn't clung to her after it for emotional support. If anything, Starfire loathed her, beyond a teenage sense of hate.

"Raven, I am this close to ending you myself. Just drop it."

Silence passed for several minutes between the two as they waited for Beast Boy and Cyborg to come up to the roof. Raven had grown irritable in that silence, so she was the first to break it. She craved Starfire's voice even with its hatred towards her.

"Robin is dead. Maybe you should be more grateful for who loves you among the living."

Starfire laughed at her dryly. "Love? And I was the one who was obsessed? I don't know why I'm still waiting here to die with you. You want me as a idea to save you from your whiney, emo darkness."

"That's not true..." Raven barely believed in her own words.

"It is. I'll show you something truly emo, Raven. I'm tired of waiting for them to kill us. If I'm going to die, it's going to be one my own terms. Goodbye..." The alien paused, purposely not calling Raven her 'friend.'

With that, Starfire distanced herself from Raven and began drawing green energy into her hands. The light became stronger and larger, pulsing wildly until it enveloped Starfire.

Raven couldn't stop her. Using her magic might only set off the energy more and grant Starfire's wish. The green light began dissolving into itself and melting Starfire, burning her too quickly for her accelerated healing to work.

She was dying and all Raven could do was watch. In the end, Raven was a loner even amidst the Titans. Starfire never loved her nor cared to even call her a friend in death.

* * *

><p>"Raven..." Beast Boy almost purred out, striding over to the witch. He relished in the fear beating from her eyes.<p>

"Azarath." She began her chant, focusing on the green hero and Cyborg coming into view.

"Go on, Raven." Beast Boy pursed his lips, almost impatiently waiting for her to cast the spell.

He was eager and confident: everything that Raven was not right now. She had little power behind her words. Raven could only tremble.

"Metrion..."

Before the final word could be said, Beast Boy shifted into a lion and quickly descended on the witch. Her fear had restricted her magic; she was no match for the physical terror of his animal form. Beast Boy would maim her.

The last Titan had been devoured by the new. It was truly poetic.

* * *

><p>"My, my. What a good show."<p>

Blood was still settling on Beast Boy's suit as he and Cyborg turned to the deep voice coming from the other side of the roof. Cyborg almost seemed shocked at who it was, but Beast Boy had expected this confrontation for the past few weeks. It was inevitable; he was an even bigger threat than the Titans.

Slade made no effort to fight them, standing and almost taunting them from his spot several feet away. "I'm surprised it was you and not the work of my apprentice. Excellent work." His words dripped of sarcastic back-hand compliments.

"Let's not banter and just say why you came here, Slade." Beast Boy spat as he wiped his lips clean.

"Fine. So eager, little boy. I have seen your work, kill after kill."

"It was you who hid Mammoth's body." Beast Boy didn't say it angrily, but the silence following his response confirmed his suspicions.

"You at least learned to clean up the rest." Slade spoke again, his voice still so cool; still so cocky.

"Slade, you're going to lose."

"Really now. Here I thought you've matured, but you sound just as ever the insolent little brat."

Cyborg only glared at the elder man, readying himself for whatever attack Beast Boy was planning. There would be no elaborate plans; this battle would be about raw power. Beast Boy and Cyborg had betted their lives and security with every target eliminated up until this point.

Slade would be just another victim on their dwindling list.

"If you had said that years ago, I would have agreed. But I'm not weak. I can transform into dozens of animals that could maim, poison, strangle, and trample you to death."

"Mmm...you're still an angsty little brat. But I have come to offer you a deal."

Beast Boy looked to Cyborg, both confused by what the older man was offering. There was no one left of the Titans to be of any interest to Slade. Robin and Raven, the only two the man had ever cared about, were dead.

"It'll be a trap, BB." Cyborg finally spoke, fighting back the urge to just pummel the elder villain.

"I was wrong. There are two brats on this roof." Slade almost snickered at them.

"You have nothing to offer me, Slade. Cyborg is right." The green hero eyed Slade defiantly, his mind quickly registering all the different animal forms he should use against him.

"I offered, but am wrong again. If you're going to act like a child, then I can't grace you with the offer of being...my apprentice." The man said it sickly, the very word 'apprentice' recalling images of Robin's abuse to Beast Boy and Cyborg. They knew better than to say yes.

"Let's just stop talking and let you die. I'm hungry." With that, Beast Boy shifted into a T-Rex.

There would be only a couple hours left of darkness. This fight needed to end quickly or the denizens of Jump would see them as they awoke in the morning. Perhaps that had been Slade's plan all along: simply exposing Beast Boy for the crazed killer he was.

It's not like Slade was ever the creative type; he was more so a playground bully than a real villain. He was a middle-aged man who fought teenagers; that insult was more cutting than anything Slade could yell at them.

* * *

><p>Their fight was going well.<p>

Beast Boy had bitten off one of Slade's arms and thankfully, it wasn't the limb of a robot duplicate. He had bitten into real flesh and blood...and he had tasted the terror of the villain.

Cyborg had concentrated on dodging Slade's attacks and distracting him for Beast Boy to bite at the man. The robot hero had been able to shot several sonic blasts at the villain even. When Beast Boy and Cyborg had fought the villain with the other Titans, they had been messy. They had fought like children or better yet ants fighting the giant human before them. Now, there was an intensity and mania in their attacks. Neither Beast Boy or Cyborg held themselves back.

They were not fighting to restrain and arrest Slade. Beast Boy and Cyborg were breaking his bones and tearing his limbs. All of their adrenaline from the day was flooding into them, channeling power into their attacks. It was manic.

Cyborg shot another sonic blast at Slade. This time, it formed a slight crack in his mask. The old villain was a dying man, fighting to keep himself and his generation of villains alive. He must have thought them easy targets to come this unprepared. It would be the elder villain's weakness.

Beast Boy had never been closer to realizing his plans.

* * *

><p>Beast Boy lunged down, still in the form of a T-Rex, to bite off the last of Slade's limbs. The elder villain's right leg was his. The green hero might not have needed to remove all of the villain's limbs, but him and Cyborg felt an insane energy propelling their attacks. They were overzealous and he loved it.<p>

They had taken down the only capable villain in Jump.

Slade wouldn't be able to walk and they had survived this battle with only bruises and sweat. Even Cyborg's circuitry still worked, still illuminated in blue.

Beast Boy focussed, shifting back into his human form. He and Cyborg took a moment to just breathe before walking over to Slade. The villain was still alive. Even though a regular human or any other villain would have died by now; the villain still looked defiantly at them. His heart still beat angrily. His mind was still hellbent on ending them.

It was laughable.

"BB, you made a mess all over the Tower." Cyborg jokingly yelled, much to the laughter of his green friend.

"It's Slade's fault." Beast Boy whined. "But come on, let's be honest and say we thought he'd be a harder kill."

Slade choked, his body twitching in anger. If he had arms, he would have throttled them.

"Seriously, Slade. I think you can admit we did well for two whiny little brats."

The villain tried clearing his throat, only to whisper: "You can't win, Beast Boy and Cyborg."

"I think we already have. Or do you believe you can just waltz away..."

"Maybe he'll hop, BB." Cyborg cackled.

"I can't die. Not to you." The man forced himself to yelled, croaked as it sounded.

"Okay, just lie to yourself and pretend you have limbs." Beast Boy rolled his eyes at Slade.

"Robin was a better apprentice than you ever could be." Now, the anger of Slade's voice was slipping away. The man seemed melancholic and Beast Boy could only laugh at him.

"You offered me to be your apprentice just the same. I just wasn't weak enough to accept like Robin."

"You're sloppy, Beast Boy. There are other villains in this city."

Cyborg came to Beast Boy's defense. "If he can take you down, I don't think he'll have to worry about the likes of Mad Mod and Dr. Light."

"The police will find out. Anyone with eyes can. You killed your team, Beast Boy and Cyborg. A green baboon and his pet computer can't hide the bodies of the true Titans."

"Slade," Beast Boy sat next to the man, fully enjoying their glare match. "No one cares about the other Titans. You might have been watching me kill lately, but you still don't understand people. You can have all the facts of what I did but never know how to put them together. No one cares about Raven, Starfire, or even your precious former apprentice."

"You're still a brat."

"You're still dying and that will always be worse than whatever insult you can call me."

"You can't win. You're...just you. Beast Boy isn't a hero let alone a good towel boy." Slade spat, his mind further slipping into death.

"I am Beast Boy, the best of the former Teen Titans. Unlike what you said, people can forget about the Titans. Especially when new ones arise in their place..."

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry for the longer wait. I plan to write one more chapter to serve as an epilogue. I'm sorry that I didn't cover more villains (like Mad Mod), but the story needs to come to a close. I've also started writing another Teen Titans fanfic called "Wretched Reality" that features Beast BoyKiller Moth. Stay crazy, my readers :)


	11. Give Peace a Chance

Chapter 11: Give Peace a Chance

* * *

><p>Beast Boy's plan had culminated quicker than he had thought. He had originally planned for months to eliminate his targets, but he and his team were eager.<p>

In mere weeks, crime in Jump had been nearly eliminated, but so had the Titans. From Mad Mod to Dr. Light, no villain was left alive. Of the bodies that Beast Boy had eaten, nothing was found so no one suspected him. The news played on people's fears about a snake-based villain preying on those villains, but the green teen had only killed several criminals that way. It was all the evidence the public had to go on before he would speak.

At first, Beast Boy had withheld notifying the authorities about the deaths of Raven, Robin, and Starfire. Surprisingly, no one had noticed their absences. No one from Starfire's homeworld cared to contact her here. Raven, as always, was a loner. Even Robin, who was Batman's protegé, didn't have anyone come looking for him.

Robin had burnt too many people in his past. His mentor had learned to keep distance from the hormonal, rebellious teen years ago. The Titans had truly been a team of loners and misfits.

"It's over." Red-X reached to grasp Beast Boy into his chest.

Unlike when they usually slept together, they were in Beast Boy's bed in the Tower. Despite that, the thief no longer cared to hide his face from his green lover. They were completely open to one another; there were no secrets. The green hero could simply coexist with his lover and be content.

"I almost no longer hate them anymore...almost."

"You're not going to keep on killing, right?" Red-X whispered, grabbing Beast Boy into a tighter hug. The thief was worried for him and it only made the green teen swoon.

"No. It's over. They're all dead. Every villain and hero we once knew is gone besides us."

"But there will be new heroes and villains, Gar. What will you do then?"

Beast Boy smiled, his eyes twinkling. "A new generation will arise. All of those I hated are gone. Maybe now we can actually fix this city...and take on real problems. Or maybe we can just steal some snazy jewelry."

"Oh, I wonder what you would want. Something tells me you would want a ring." The thief teased him, but there was no hint of seriousness in his words. For now, Beast Boy was content in their relationship. He might have rushed into it, but he wasn't also going to suddenly elope...with the incredibly dashing thief.

"But seriously, I'm done with death. You, me, Cyborg, Gizmo, and Jinx will be the new Titans of Jump. We can use our celebrity for good things like charity and educational reform. There are real monsters in Jump."

"Just admit it, you're still a psycho. A dangerously lovable killer, but still a psycho." There was no malice in his words; it was said cutely.

"Okay, maybe I'll eliminate this city's problems." Beast Boy rolled his eyes, laughing at his lover. "Jump is ours to control. I almost can't believe I'm saying that."

"You were very angsty when this all started. Woe is me..."

"Yes, somehow I was the emo one in the Tower. Even more doom and gloom than that Hot Topic goth Raven." The green teen playfully sneered.

"You were though. You hated the Titans. No, you _loathed_ them."

"It's not like you were all lovey-dovey with them either, Red."

"I'm not the one who shacked up with Robin." The thief pursed his lips, looking way too charmingly smug for his own good.

"You're evil." Beast Boy jokingly smacked his boyfriend.

"Really, I'm innocent. I haven't killed a soul." They both laughed at that.

Somehow, their instant attraction had blossomed into an actual, committed relationship. They simply could exist, purely as themselves without any façade. Beast Boy had never allowed anyone to truly know him until he had met the thief.

With Red-X by his side, he had matured during his quest to control Jump. He no longer brooded over his hatred for the Titans. He was better than that; he now controlled the very city he had once hated. Now that the city's villains were gone, he could reshape the city in his image.

Jump had never felt more like his hometown until he had decided to become an active player in its destiny. He had the city...and he had Red-X. Life could really be that simple and peaceful.

* * *

><p>Beast Boy called for a press conference, not realizing just how crazy Jump's citizens would be to hear him speak. It was deliciously strange: they desperately wanted him to give them reassurance and explain the recent deaths despite that he was secretly the killer. He had never felt so nurturing towards the people and so deceptive. He loved it.<p>

"Greetings, members of the press and people of Jump." He cleared his throat, affecting a kinder tone in his voice. He needed to play the part of Beast Boy, the hero.

Before continuing, he looked to his teammates around him. Instead of continuing to hide, he had told Cyborg, Gizmo, Jinx, and Red-X to come. They stood by his sides; the thief was close enough to him that he could make out each of his breaths. Cyborg and Jinx were also standing suspiciously close together, which didn't go unnoticed by Beast Boy. Gizmo had finally matured and accepted his place among the team; like the rest, he was proud to be here with Beast Boy.

"Recently, the villains of this city were. There is no other way around it. I can't keep it g-rated. They were hunted down and murdered." He didn't care to edit his words and try to be tactful, he would play an innocent, truthful façade to them. Jump's citizens would simply eat it up.

"Who is responsible?" Several members of the press clamored at once. It made Beast Boy smile in how eager they were.

"Although many of the deaths were snake-related, it was a plan of Slade's. He wanted to throw the Titans and everyone off his trail as he took over Jump."

Beast Boy pointed at a male news anchor, letting him speak. "Has he been apprehended?"

"Once again, I can't blemish the truth. Slade attacked the Titans and we had to kill him."

Instead of shocked gasps, the crowd cheered. Even the normally stoic police seemed excited. Slade was too easy of a scapegoat.

"Why are known criminals with you? What part does a thief, a witch, and a hacker, play in all of this?" Another reporter spoke over the excitement.

"After we found out Slade was behind a plan to kill the city's villains, I offered amnesty to any of them who would turn coat and join the Titans. Only these three accepted. They are heroes, people. The past is the past." The crowd seemed to easily accept his words.

Instead of letting allowing more questions, the green teen continued. "I'm sad to say that Raven, Robin, and Starfire had to be reassigned because of their failures during this crisis. They didn't approve of my plan...to save this city. They couldn't move on and accept change."

Once again, the crowd clung to his words.

Cyborg spoke, his voice booming confidently. "They were reassigned to a division on Starfire's homeworld. Until then, this is your new team. We have proven ourselves by stopping Slade and will continue to fight crime in Jump."

"Just like this city, we can move from a regrettable past into a bright, new future...if you let us." Jinx spoke, sounding earnestly nice as she looked around the room. She had a kindness that Raven could never have expressed.

"That will be all for questioning. There is a city to change. A new city demands a new team of heroes."

With that, they left as the bulbs of flashlights went off. There had been truth it their words: Jump would be remade into a newer city. They would use their celebrity to reform the backwards city of Jump. Despite every act they had committed to get to this point, they were now the heroes this city deserved.

It was over. Beast Boy needed to give peace a chance. As they walked to the T-Car, the green teen held back Red-X and delivered him a searing, almost blinding kiss. He had won the right to be open.

A war had been fought and won; the future was unknowable, but for now he could enjoy his boyfriend and team. He was a dark, psychotic man, but at the same time, he knew the joys of love and the depths of friendship.

He was no longer angry towards his past, but excited for the peace of his future.

* * *

><p>AN: This is now the first story I have ever finished. For those who don't know, I've also started a fanfic called "<strong>Wretched Reality<strong>" with a Killer Moth/Beast Boy slash pairing.

Thank you to everyone who read and supported this story. **thenormalfreak** deserves a shout out for being with this story since it began two years ago :) I have no words to express how thankful I am to everyone again. I might write one-shots dealing with how they killed other villains or a follow-up, but they would be down the line when I'm less busy. I still can't believe that this story was two mere chapters in 2011 then abandoned until this summer. Thank you.

Anyways, farewell.


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